The Aquinnah police department will soon double in size – from one full-time officer to two – offering a respite after Chilmark declined to offer support. 

The Aquinnah select board announced at a meeting Thursday that it would hire select board member Chris Manning as a full-time officer on Dec. 28. Mr. Manning applied for the position in early December and has since resigned from his officer position in Tisbury.

“[Aquinnah] has been spending way too much money for coverage from outside agencies…” Mr. Manning told the Gazette. “I’m hoping to alleviate that kind of pressure.”

Aquinnah has been down to one officer, Chief Randhi Belain, since September and has struggled to beef up its ranks. Mr. Manning’s hiring came after the Chilmark select board voted on Tuesday to decline Aquinnah’s request for assistance filling on-call shifts. 

The Chilmark patrol officers union wrote in a letter to the board that it would not be in the best interest of the health and wellbeing of its officers to assist the neighboring town.

“As far as I’m concerned, if the union declined then I think we should go back in and tell Randhi that we can’t do it,” said Chilmark select board member Jeffrey Maida.

Chief Belain said the outcome in Chilmark was disappointing, but Aquinnah is fortunate to hire Mr. Manning. He worked for the town as a special officer from May 2021 to Sep. 2024, while also working as a ranger for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

At Thursday’s meeting, Mr. Manning signed ethics paperwork under Massachusetts law for municipal employees holding an elected position. Chief Belain said Mr. Manning will make $47.68 per hour and offered to do more on-call shifts since he lives in-town.

Select board member Tom Murphy thanked Mr. Manning for helping the department out. He said the town has been paying exorbitant rates and having Mr. Manning, especially since he lives in town, is a great service to the public.

“We’re delighted to have you on board,” Mr. Murphy said.

Aquinnah has a third full-time officer in their department who has been on medical leave for several months. 

The Aquinnah department needs four officers to be fully staffed and Chief Belain told the board previously that even that is a stretch to properly police the town. Chief Belain is in communication with another person who applied for an officer position, but they have no prior police experience. 

The town will still continue its arrangement with the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office and state police to fill the vacancies in the department.

The state is currently filling any open shifts the Aquinnah department has at their overtime rate, which varies between $85-$115 per hour depending on rank. 

The sheriff’s office agreed to do the on-call shifts for $90 an hour. Under the agreement, their officers are paid the same rate regardless if the town gets any calls.

“Even with Chris coming on, there’s still going to be shifts that are left open,” Chief Belain said. 

He told the Gazette that call volume has decreased since the summer and there hasn’t yet been a situation where the number of calls at a certain time has outnumbered the total officers on-duty. 

Ultimately, Chief Belain feels the up-Island select boards should start having serious conversations about regionalization. He said it’s not just a difficult process to hire police nowadays and staffing shortages are impacting other public safety departments.

“I just keep hearing ‘Oh, it’ll never work,’ but I’m not of that belief,” Chief Belain said. “Maybe it won’t, but let’s at least have the conversation and explore it.”