08/16/2026
A Message from the Town of Capon Bridge Regarding Police Staffing
The recent discussion regarding the Capon Bridge Police Department has generated strong opinions, and we understand why. Public safety matters, and the Town appreciates that so many residents and business owners care about maintaining a police presence in our community.
At the same time, some of the information circulating does not tell the full story of how the Town reached its decision.
For much of the Town's history, including several years immediately before the current arrangement, Capon Bridge operated with part-time police coverage. With a little over 400 residents, a limited number of retail businesses within Town limits generating municipal sales-tax revenue, no municipal B&O tax, and a relatively small overall revenue base, the Town has always had to be careful about the level of recurring expenses it takes on.
The move to a full-time officer was an effort to increase police coverage above that longstanding baseline.
When the Town decided to enter into the ICE 287(g) Task Force Model program last fiscal year, the Town understood that maintaining a full-time officer was necessary for its participation. At the time, the Town was hopeful that participation in the program would lead to additional funding opportunities through the program that could help offset the increased cost of moving from part-time to full-time police staffing. That anticipated funding has not yet materialized.
That left the Town paying the increased cost of a full-time position without the additional recurring revenue that it had hoped would help support it. Rather than immediately return the position to part-time, however, the Town deliberately selected November 20, 2026 as the effective date for the reduction. That provided approximately four months to continue searching for a solution.
During that time, the Town applied for funding through the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Hiring Program specifically in an effort to preserve the full-time position. That application remains pending.
The Town is hopeful, but grants are competitive. Anticipated grant revenue is not the same thing as money actually received, and the Town cannot responsibly build a continuing payroll obligation around funding that may or may not arrive.
The Town is also examining local revenue options. One issue that has been discussed is the Town's existing $4 user fee, which has not been increased in many years. An increase can certainly be considered. Preliminary evaluation, however, indicates that an increase at levels likely to be reasonably manageable for residents would not necessarily cover the entire difference between part-time and full-time police staffing. A substantially larger increase raises its own concerns for residents and businesses.
Those are conversations the Town is willing to have. They are also decisions that should be evaluated carefully rather than rushed.
There has also been some discussion suggesting that water or sewer money could simply be used to cover police costs. Water and sewer utility revenues are not an unrestricted pool of Town money that can simply be redirected to police payroll. A separately imposed municipal user fee is a different matter, but the fact that a charge may appear on the same bill does not make utility revenues general-purpose funds.
Most importantly, this decision was not a determination that Capon Bridge does not need or value its Police Department. No one involved in these discussions has suggested that police protection is unimportant, that the Chief's work is not valuable, or that the Town would not prefer to maintain and ultimately expand police coverage if sustainable funding can be identified.
The November plan is a return to the level of staffing the Town operated under for years while we continue looking for a financially sustainable way to provide greater coverage. If the pending grant or another dependable revenue source allows the Town to maintain full-time coverage, that is a result the Town would welcome.
Capon Bridge is a small municipality. We do not have a public-relations department, but we do have public meetings. These issues, including grant funding and possible revenue alternatives, have been part of the Town's public discussions.
Town Council meets on the second Tuesday of each month, and meetings are open to the public. The next regular meeting is Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall.
Facebook can be useful for community discussion, but we encourage everyone—regardless of their position on this issue—to verify information, attend Council meetings, ask questions, and hear firsthand how and why these decisions are being made.
We welcome that participation. These are difficult choices, and the Town will continue working to find the best way to provide for public safety while also meeting its obligation to operate within the resources actually available to our community.
