SHUTESBURY — An acting officer in charge is overseeing Shutesbury Police through the end of June, with the current police chief on administrative leave.

In a June 4 communication from Town Administrator Hayley Bolton, Police Sgt. Devon Pelletier was announced as the temporary officer in charge, appointed by the Select Board through June 30.

“Sgt. Pelletier will be handling all of the town of Shutesbury Police Department’s official business,” the correspondence states.

Pelletier took on a similar role earlier in May when Police Chief Kristin Burgess was previously on leave, but an announcement was made at the board’s May 20 meeting that this had been rescinded when she returned to the role.

Town Meeting recap

In part because of these changes, the police department was at the center of budget discussions at the May 31 Town Meeting, which took place a day after the Select Board announced that Burgess would be on leave through June.

Draft minutes from the meeting, which passed a $7.7 million fiscal year 2026 budget for town and school operations, indicate that police department spending was a concern, with an amendment to keep the police department budget at current spending levels. That was withdrawn prior to a vote.

Later, a majority of those present voted down a more targeted budget adjustment that would have cut the police chief’s salary for fiscal year 2026 from $95,000 to $71,663, keeping it the same as it has been, reducing the department’s expense line from $23,000 to $21,000 and reduce total spending from $283,356 to $258,019. Part of the concern was that town employees were getting 3.3% cost-of-living adjustments, but the police chief’s raise would be much higher.

Lake Wyola regs updated

Voters also adopted a new bylaw governing Lake Wyola. The “Watercraft and Persons Using Lake Wyola,” updated for the first time since 2014, included a change, adopted by a 41-33 vote, to set a 6 mph speed limit for motorized watercraft within 150 feet of swimmers, as well as non-motorized watercraft and the shore.

Town Meeting also unanimously voted to support the Massachusetts Medicare for All Act, establishing a single-payer health care system in the state, and will notify both Rep. Aaron Saunders, D-Ludlow, and Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton.

The voters also supported a push for municipal decarbonization by 2050, opted into the state’s specialized energy code and enhanced the existing safe community bylaw.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.