Town board approves bonus for officers

By Lyndsie Ferrell
DEL NORTE— During the monthly meeting for the Del Norte Town Board on Sept. 12, trustees listened to an update given by Police Chief Robert Fresquez on recent activity in the town and the many hours he and Officer Frank Archuleta have been working. “We are having to cover shifts that would otherwise be covered by another officer and we are getting worn out,” stated Fresquez.
Fresquez stated that the department is continuing to look for applicants to fill the vacant position and asked that they have permission to increase the offered salary from $30,000 to $33,000. “I think we will have better luck offering more money to applicants. Right now, we are advertising on several networks like Indeed.com and in newspapers. It’s hard to try and devote time to finding an officer when we are already working double time to cover shifts.”
According to Fresquez, the board was happy to figure out some kind of bonus for the department and asked that he work with Town Administrator Bernadette Martinez to figure out a pay schedule. “We are switching back and forth from overnight shifts to day shifts and more often than not, working back to back shifts to cover the hours. It’s been a lot of work, but we also know how important it is to the town,” stated Fresquez.
In a meeting held in July of this year, board members also voted to include a tax increase question on the ballot in November. The town is asking the community of Del Norte to approve a two percent sales tax increase to help pay for an additional officer and the downtown revitalization project. The tax increase would be split 50/50 between the two, helping to hire an additional officer and save money for the downtown project.
“We need this increase so that we can hire an additional officer and have up to four on duty. Things have been relatively slow these last few weeks and have seen activity continue to decrease with the summer crowd heading home. We have had some busy summers in the past but this one was definitely the busiest we have seen for a while, traffic wise. I think we have the thefts under control and Neighborhood Watch is really started to take off,” Fresquez said.
Fresquez stated that the department does not have any applicants for the vacant position at this time, but that he hopes with the salary increase, they will begin to see more potential applicants applying. “We have to keep at it and try to find someone. In mean time, Officer Archuleta and I will continue to work extra hours to make sure the town is covered both day and night. We continue to ask the public for their support and help in reporting suspicious activity and to attend the monthly Neighborhood Watch meetings. I think our efforts are really starting to pay off.”
Neighborhood watch meetings are the third Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. in the county annex building. Please report any suspicious activity to the police department at 657-2600.