By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—Another Brandon PD officer, Corporal Michael VonSchleusingen, has tendered his resignation, bringing to five the number of officers that have left Brandon PD since December. Corporal VanSchleusingen’s resignation will take effect on Friday, March 7.
Brandon Police Chief David Kachajian delivered Corporal VonSchleusingen’s letter of resignation to Brandon Town Manager Seth Hopkins on Tuesday, February 25. Corporal VanSchleusingen, who joined Brandon PD in 2019 as a patrol officer, praised Chief Kachajian and cited career advancement as the reason for his departure. He will be joining the Ludlow Police Department.
In response to an email query from this paper, Chief Kachajian stated that until the Department’s ranks are replenished, Brandon PD will consist of him, one full-time officer, and one part-time officer. The Department will provide coverage Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., occasionally 6 p.m. Otherwise, the Vermont State Police will provide coverage when Brandon PD is unable to.
Mr. Hopkins stated that the town is in negotiations with the Police Union to develop a plan for recruitment and retention, though the specifics of those discussions are not yet available to the public. Mr. Hopkins added that much of the substance of the negotiations relates to increased compensation and other incentives.
“We are not contemplating any move away from on-call and on-duty because we can’t afford 24/7 on-duty,” said Mr. Hopkins. “We’re learning from the Union Representative what has been working in other towns for recruiting and retention and we are looking to apply those successful tactics/best practices to Brandon.”
“On-duty” vs. “on-call” service has been the subject of much discussion in Brandon over the last several months. “On-call” service is an arrangement in which officers return home after a regular shift but may be called back into service if required, even in the middle of the night. By contrast, “on-duty” service allows officers to establish regular hours without worry that they will be called back to Brandon after their shifts are done.
Brandon PD has been functioning with on-call service for years, though the Brandon Selectboard has investigated the possibility of moving to 24/7 on-duty coverage. However, Chief Kachajian has estimated that such coverage would require nine or ten full-time officers and would cost the town upwards of $1.2 million per year.
An attempt last summer to provide 24/7 coverage with six full-time officers plus the Chief quickly proved unsustainable because of extreme overtime costs, which depleted the Department’s annual overtime budget within a single quarter.
Though some members of the advisory Budget Committee, some community members, and the heads of the Brandon Fire Department and Rescue Squad advocated for 24/7 coverage to ensure safety and to improve working conditions for Brandon PD officers, the Selectboard did not feel comfortable asking taxpayers to absorb the substantial cost, especially after this year’s proposed budget failed twice at the ballot box last spring.
The Selectboard ultimately proposed increasing the FY2025-2026 budget for Brandon PD by 9.41%, from $856,000 to $937,000, though even this significant increase would not be sufficient to provide 24/7 on-duty coverage. Two members of the Board, Tim Guiles and Brian Coolidge, had proposed reducing the police budget and the size of the Department’s crew, stating that a town of Brandon’s size could manage with a smaller force.
Four other Brandon PD officers have left Brandon PD since December. Three officers joined Rutland City Police Department and one officer joined Middlebury. The officer who went to Middlebury, Aidan Alnwick, was also the handler assigned to K-9 officer Guinness, whom Alnwick took with him. Middlebury has agreed to compensate Brandon for the expense the town incurred in acquiring and training Guinness.
Though none of these five officers have stated publicly that they were dissatisfied with the management of the Department, and Corporal VanSchleusingen praised Chief Kachajian and the town explicitly, Selectboard member Brian Coolidge suggested in January that the Board meet with the officers away from their direct managers in order to determine whether there were issues other than hours and wages driving the departures that the officers didn’t feel comfortable discussing with the Chief or the Town Manager. No such meetings have taken place.
