We have spoken and we demand to be heard!

This is a message to our dear friends on the Board of Selectman. The town has spoken. We voted nearly 2:1 to keep our police department as our own. We voted to have seven full time officers. We voted to not have the Belknap sheriffs department not provide services which would not be equivalent to the services we are supposed to have. How are four full time sheriffs supposed provide the same coverage as seven? How does that math even make sense?

The town has spoken. We voted to have a full time fire chief command our fire department. We do not want to merge or form a partnership with Gilmanton or Pittsfield. We already work together with these departments in the form of mutual aid on a very regular basis. If regionalization is even a potential reality, I demand to see your master plan. How is the police or fire commission going to be set up? What is the long term plan if one town wants to get out in a year or two? How much will it cost?

Have you even looked into the RSAs that would allow for such a change? Have you considered the large expense involved in getting all of our equipment matching from each of these departments? You currently have one town using MSA breathing apparatus and another using Scott. They are not compatible. What about the cost of building a central station? You cannot realistically put a station in North Barnstead and expect them to respond to the Northwood town line in Pittsfield in a timely manner. Or respond to the corners in Gilmanton. But I am sure you have already considered all of this because you must have a five to ten year plan already if you are already proposing such a change.

We have spoken and we demand that you respect us as your constituents. Personal agendas need to be put aside. The bullying needs to stop. It's time to put the town of BARNSTEAD front and center. We demand a police chief, a fire chief and more than one full time police officer. We demand that you hire another full time firefighter and keep our town safe.

We have spoken and we will not allow this to be brushed under the table while you destroy our town. We demand to be heard! Do not push us aside because those of us who put our lives on the line for this town will push right back.
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