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Council authorizes school resource officer at Holy Family Parish; police report shows staffing rebound and hiring push
Summary
Council approved an MOU to place a part‑time school resource officer at Holy Family Parish and received the police department's 2024 annual report, which described understaffing in 2024, an ongoing hiring drive and the move to 12‑hour shifts to reduce overtime.
Stowe City Council adopted an agreement on Sept. 25 authorizing the mayor to execute a contract with Holy Family Parish for one permanent part‑time school resource officer (SRO) and heard the Stowe Police Department’s 2024 annual report.
SRO contract: The proposed MOU mirrors the agreement the city approved earlier for the public schools and makes a part‑time officer available to Holy Family Parish; the city’s chief said the parish has not previously had a dedicated SRO and has occasionally hired security for large events. The chief told council the parish approached the city recently and that the pastor and the law department worked out the contract language. Councilmember Coffey indicated she supported the MOU and noted the model of using retired‑officer hires makes the SRO arrangement more fiscally feasible for nonpublic schools. Council adopted ordinance 2025‑186 authorizing the contract.
Police annual report and staffing: Chief Filmm (presenting) said 2024 was a challenging year because the department was short several officers—at one point down six officers in a 45‑officer force—causing a roughly 10% drop in calls for service and a nearly 15% drop in traffic enforcement. The department also reported increases in juvenile referrals, a 51% rise in mental‑health calls and a 30% increase in injury crashes; Part‑1 crimes showed mixed trends with two homicides in 2024 (an increase from the prior year) and declines in burglaries and drug offenses.
Recruitment update: The department said it launched an active hiring campaign and has a record number of applicants by recent standards, with testing periods scheduled through the next two weeks. Officials said they hoped to hire at least five recruits to fill current vacancies. The department also reported it adopted a 12‑hour shift schedule this year, which leadership said has reduced overtime pressure and will be measured for budget effects over the coming months.
Votes and next steps: The SRO contract ordinance (2025‑186) passed on Sept. 25. Police leadership will continue recruitment efforts and return to council with operational updates as needed.
Ending: Councilmembers thanked officers for their public‑safety work; some praised recent officer responses at large events and highlighted the department’s recruitment gains.
