WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — After a summer of contentious debate, the Selectboard may ask voters directly whether Hartford should have a formal ordinance or change its Fair and Impartial Policing Policy regarding communications between police and federal immigration authorities.
The Selectboard agenda for Tuesday night calls for a discussion of a Welcoming Hartford Ordinance and also makes clear that the board may first decide whether to put the issue to a Town Meeting vote.
“To move the subject forward for action, the Selectboard will first consider whether to put options regarding the matter on the Town Meeting Ballot,” a memo released Friday from Town Manager Brannon Godfrey says.
If the Selectboard opts for the Town Meeting route, it would then consider whether to do so by amending its Fair and Impartial Policing Policy or by enacting a “Welcoming Hartford Ordinance” that would include a so-called “savings clause” to protect police from running afoul of federal law. Godfrey’s memo says town staff oppose changes to the FIPP but recommend bringing the ordinance to a Town Meeting vote in March.
Selectboard Chairman Simon Dennis on Thursday said that various options are at play.
“The bottom line is I don’t know what the board is going to decide,” he said.
The meeting on Tuesday at Town Hall starts at 6 p.m., and the Selectboard agenda says no comments will be taken from the public on the matter.
Godfrey said via email that the Selectboard “has determined that the many hours of public comment taken over the last three months is reasonable.”
John P. Gregg can be reached at 603-727-3217 or jgregg@vnews.com.