NORWICH — The resignation of a patrol officer just six months after being hired is rekindling the debate about staff and pay levels at the town’s police department.

After the departure of two officers last week, the department is currently operating at half its budgeted staff levels. One of the officers went on medical leave, but the other accepted a position in another town.

Chelsea Maxham, who tendered her resignation on June 28, was one of two officers the department hired in February.

“I feel like the chief was trying hard to change things and I don’t know where the disconnect was, but I didn’t feel things were moving in a forward fashion,” Maxham said at a Selectboard meeting last week. “And knowing the history (in Norwich) it was hard to ride things out and see if we could fix things.”

Police Chief Wade Cochran described her departure as a loss.

“She was really a good fit with the department,” Cochran said in an interview. “She bought into the community policing model we have here and she was a very proactive officer.”

Maxham, who worked her last shift in Norwich on Friday, has been hired by the Randolph Police Department.

The other officer’s medical leave began last week. Cochran said that officer is expected to be on leave “for several weeks.”

For a small department such as Norwich’s — which has a chief, three officers and an administrative assistant — the loss of a single staff member puts a heavy burden on the rest of the department to cover shifts, Cochran told residents at the Selectboard meeting on July 12.

“With (Maxham) leaving, we lost 25% (of our officers). With another officer having a medical emergency, that puts us at 50%,” Cochran said. “And with another officer who has a planned vacation, we are down 75%.”

Even when fully staffed, Norwich officers are frequently asked be on call in addition to their full-time schedule.

Maxham said the number of on-call hours she had to perform factored significantly in her decision to leave.

“I was working three weekends out of four every month,” Maxham told residents at the meeting.

In addition to working an on-duty shift on Saturday, Maxham said she was on call Friday evening and most of Saturday and Sunday. In all, she was on call more than 30 hours per week.

Norwich officers receive an hourly wage of just $2.69 for being on call, which Maxham said is too low.

“You’re getting paid to not be able to do anything,” Maxham said. “You can’t go to a barbecue, you can’t go shopping, you can’t have a beer. You have to be available to respond.”

Maxham also has three children, so being on call limited her ability to plan family activities.

Police staffing has been a contentious topic in Norwich over the past year. Cochran — who took over as chief in October — has urged the Selectboard to increase the staff to at least five officers, which would ensure the department’s ability to provide continuous coverage, including when officers are on vacation.

At Town Meeting in March, voters supported an advisory article, 681-574, asking the Selectboard to consider the appointment of an additional full-time police officer. Voters also elected two new members to the Selectboard — Priscilla Vincent and Pamela Smith, who both vocally supported funding the additional position.

But since Town Meeting, the Selectboard has not publicly discussed how to fund additional staffing.

Residents at the July 12 meeting expressed frustration at the board’s lack of action.

“If the Selectboard does not agree it is a top priority, I believe that is a major mistake,” resident Wayne Kniffin said. “It sends the message that Norwich does not support providing the resources necessary to do the job (and) our police will naturally question whether this is a place they want to work.”

Selectboard Chairwoman Marcia Calloway could not be reached for comment.

Interim Town Manager Brennan Duffy said last week that the town hopes to rehire a former Norwich officer to fill shifts.

Vermont State Police will also provide support when able, though Cochran noted that the state police also are short-staffed.

As a result of staffing, the Norwich Police Department will be unable to respond to some types of calls, such as vehicle lockouts, complaints about nuisance dogs or property checks for out-of-town residents.

“We’re going to do the best we can, but it’s a struggle,” Cochran told residents. “The state police are definitely going to step up and help where they can, but there are certain calls that are going to have to wait until we have another officer come on.”

Cochran said in the interview that he has been selective when reviewing applicants for openings to ensure the candidate is “the right fit” for the town.

The ideal candidate, Cochran said, would be a 10- to 12-year veteran who has experience working in a relatively quiet community but who can take charge of a crime scene when an incident occurs.

Many new recruits are looking to acquire a variety of experience, such as traffic patrol, that Norwich does not typically provide, Cochran said.

Maxham, though having only one year of experience, was an exception to that rule because she bought into the department’s community-focused philosophy, Cochran explained.

The Selectboard is still negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the Norwich police union. Though Cochran is not part of the negotiations, the chief has advocated for increasing the pay for officers to make the department competitive with other municipalities.

Norwich’s starting wages for officers range from $22 to $24 per hour depending on certification level, which is below par in the Upper Valley.

Hanover’s starting pay for certified officers is $26 per hour and Hartford hourly starting pay ranges between $25 and $27.

Windsor, which has a similarly sized population to Norwich, has a starting pay range of $23 to $28 per hour, depending on experience.

Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or at 603-727-3216.

CORRECTION: Chelsea Maxham is the officer who resigned from the Norwich Police Department in June. A previous version of this story misspelled her last name.