WILTON – Use of an additional $30,000 approved by town meeting voters in June for recruitment and retention of police officers has not yet been settled after numerous meetings, both in public and in non-public sessions. At the regular meeting of the Select Board on Monday, Aug. 2, little pro-gress was made. It was suggested that a committee be named to look at “the pay scales of all of the town departments.”

Chairwoman Kellie-Sue Boissonnault said “a lot of mis-information” had been posted on Face Book. “We have always supported the Chief Olesen.”

Chief Eric Olesen has said that, if fully staffed, there would be eight full-time officers including himself, and four part-time. He is currently trying to fill three positions and maintaining 24-hoiur coverage is requiring “a lot of overtime.”

He said he needed the recruitment and retention bonuses in order to keep his current officers and hire new ones.

However, the board said, the pay scale suggested by the chief “is higher than the $30,000.” Se-lectman Kermit Williams said he had “the highest opinion of your department,” and agreed that eliminating a third shift or paying a lot of overtime “was not a good option. With a full staff, you can patrol 24 hours,” which the town has continually supported.

He also noted that “this board doesn’t write the budget. We have a budget committee. It’s important for us to have a full crew and that means we have to recruit. We want to follow the process.”

Olesen has said that all neighboring towns are also recruiting and there are few officers looking for work. The larger towns and near-by cities offer higher salaries.

“We have a good department and need to get new people.” Williams said.

Boissonnault said, “I have always supported the police department and I appreciate the pressures you are under.”

Selectman Matt Fish said, noting the current acrimony and posts on Face Book, “This whole thing is unfortunate and unnecessary, but you are asking this board to override the will of the voters (who approved $30,000). The (proposed) raises would exceed the amount raised at town meeting. I wish we could have avoided this.”

Olesen said, “We do need to come together. I am staying on line with my budget. I provided all of the requested information and it’s been blown way out of proportion. I’m trying to retain all of the officers I have. We need to create a plan that will work for all of us.”

Several officers were in attendance with Olesen and two added comments of support.

Town Administrator Paul Branscomb said, “We are all out of whack and need to fix this before the next budget cycle (which begins in October.”

Boissonnault said, “The bonuses have nothing to do with the pay scale. The town meeting was looking at retention bonuses, and those are still being offered. We will be doing a study, forming a committee, to look at all salaries, tie that in with the budget process..

It was noted that Wilton’s pay scale in higher than the average paid in the area, described as being “in the 70th percentile.”

During the public comment part of the meeting, a resident read a letter into the record which con-cluded, “Quality doesn’t cost, it pays. The police have always been there for us. I support raising their salaries. They are our first line of defense.”

No one argued the point.