Burlington Police remain short-staffed.

The Chittenden County Sheriff’s Office has been hired to help with daily coverage at the Burlington International Airport to assist the understaffed Burlington Police.

A uniformed Chittenden County deputy sheriff and a fully marked department cruiser have been seen at the airport in South Burlington this week.

Sheriff Dan Gamelin said Wednesday his department was approached by Burlington Police because it was having trouble both staffing patrols downtown and meeting its contractual safety obligations with federal officials at the airport.

Interim Police Chief Shawn Burke said Thursday his department currently has 55 sworn officers with only 44 available actually available for active duty.

The other 11 officers are unavailable for a variety of reasons.  They include attending the police academy, are on leave for family or military reasons, undergoing field training and two are on leave pending review of shooting incidents. 

Burlington Police are required to have fully certified armed police officers at the airport almost virtually around the clock for all 365 days of the year.  

Vermont News First was told the union representing the Burlington Police Officers was unhappy that possible overtime hours were being made available to an outside law enforcement agency. 

The current contract has staffing requirements for the airport (6) and the detective bureau (10), but has no minimum for overall coverage of the city by officers.  The shortage came after the City Council moved to “Defund Police” and the city now lacks adequate staffing.

Vermont State Police and the Vermont Highway Patrol have been used to help with the short staffing at times.  The Burlington Police officers are not allowed to work unlimited hours due to possible exhaustion and the daily hazards of the profession.

Gamelin said he was only able to guarantee fulltime certified deputy sheriffs for the day shift, seven days a week.  He said he has about a half dozen deputies that have expressed interest in filling the need from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Gamelin said deputies are getting special training by airport operations about what is expected to keep the facility safe.  The sheriff said he expects to personally go through the training process himself to better understand what is expected of his officers.

Burlington Police will  continue to handle the evening and overnight shifts.

Gamelin said he has assigned Lt. Mike Longevin from his office to serve as the liaison with the airport.

Burlington Police officers have a system where police officers can claim work shifts and some assignments based on the seniority of employees.

City police officers have said through the years the airport assignment has been considered one of the most coveted work shifts, especially for those nearing retirement. 

The airport staffing problems are seriously impacted by the current ongoing demands of downtown patrols.  There are ongoing cases of serious crimes, public intoxication, constant drug use, fighting and confrontations, gun cases, urination, panhandling, sleeping in the parks and on public benches and other anti-social behavior that all make the airport assignment more attractive.

Burke said the new contract calls on the sheriff’s office to provide the patrols for the so-called fall term — from Sept. 6 to Jan. 2.  The going rate is $90 an hour per deputy during the weekdays and $135 an hour on weekends and holidays, Gamelin said.

Airport Manager Nic Longo did not respond in recent days to a request for an interview.