The Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs is recommending that sheriffs be required to hold the state’s top police certification.
Under current state law, sheriffs do not need to be certified law enforcement officers. But in a November report to state legislators, the department proposed changing the Vermont Constitution or state statute to mandate that sheriffs obtain a Level III law enforcement certification, the highest police certification in the state.
Among Vermont’s current crop of 14 sheriffs, 12 hold Level III certifications. Two sheriffs possess Level II certifications, though Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore is expected to officially lose his certification next week due to a use-of-force violation.
The proposed Level III qualification would bring a certain level of professionalism and skill to the sheriff’s seat, said Annie Noonan, the department’s labor relations and operations director. She said it would also ensure that sheriffs have some accountability to the Vermont Criminal Justice Council — which awards and revokes the certification — and not just to the people who elect them.
“So there’s no check and balance for someone who is not law enforcement,” Noonan, the report’s lead author, said in an interview.
Last session, the Senate Committee on Government Operations began working on a proposed constitutional amendment, Proposal 1, which was prompted by scandals at several sheriffs’ departments. Lawmakers on the committee discussed changing the qualifications of elected county officials, including potentially requiring sheriffs to possess a Level III law enforcement certification.
In its Nov. 15 report, the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs also proposed that, if sheriffs continue not being required to hold a police certification, those without one should be paid 30% less than Level III sheriffs.
Under current state law, sheriffs with a Level II certification are paid 10% less than those who have Level III certification, but state law does not say anything about reducing the pay of sheriffs who are not law enforcement officers. It makes sense that they would be paid even less, Noonan argued.
“What do we think is fair?” she said.
Noonan said her department wrote the report — required under a new law that seeks to reform sheriffs’ departments — with input from the Vermont Sheriffs’ Association, primarily through Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux.
When asked whether officials drafted the certification and pay recommendations with Grismore’s case in mind, Noonan said the Franklin County sheriff’s name did not come up in the discussions. She said the report was submitted to lawmakers three weeks before the state Criminal Justice Council voted on Dec. 6 to revoke Grismore’s police certification.
“We never even talked about Grismore,” Noonan said. “It was more … What do we think the Legislature intended?”
The sheriffs’ association called for Grismore’s resignation on Monday, a few hours before the Franklin County sheriff testified in front of the House committee considering his impeachment.
Marcoux, first vice president of the association, said the group has not yet taken a position on the department’s proposals since the sheriffs expect the recommendations to evolve once lawmakers weigh in.
“We just appreciate having the opportunity to participate in this sort of thing, so that we can further professionalize the sheriffs,” he said.
The heads of the legislative committees that received the report said they haven’t had a chance to study the 14-page document. Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, said the Senate Government Operations Committee that she heads will review the report next session and decide if it wants to move forward with any of the recommendations.
Rep. Mike McCarthy, D-St. Albans, chair of the House Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs, said his participation in the Grismore impeachment inquiry committee has taken up a lot of time but that it has also helped him better understand the changes that need to be made in elected county positions.
“Especially the testimony that we took yesterday, it has confirmed my concerns and validated our need to rein in these county offices,” McCarthy said of the impeachment inquiry hearing on Monday where several sheriffs testified. “I think the public expects a higher degree of accountability.”
