BRATTLEBORO — A group of residents successfully petitioned for a special Town Meeting to discuss whether to cancel new municipal rules against public crimes such as drug use and dealing, physical threats and property damage.

The local election board voted 3-2 in September for an “acceptable community conduct” ordinance after hearing community complaints about an issue. 16% increase in police searches.

In response, petitioners claiming the new code of conduct “criminalizes poverty and addiction” gathered signatures from 5% of the more than 9,000 registered voters in Brattleboro to start a special Town Meeting on December 12. At the meeting, participants will vote on whether to attend the meeting or not. overthrow the rules.

“We are concerned about the pace and nature of decisions being made without the input of those most vulnerable and at risk of violence,” organizers wrote in an accompanying post on change.org. expression.

The petitioners, who do not have a specific spokesperson but instead operate under the banner of “Vibrant Community Response,” acknowledge the town’s public safety issues due to illegal drugs and related issues.

“These are our valid concerns, we just disagree on the approach,” they wrote in their statement. “The town’s resources should be allocated to meet human needs, not to punish ‘bad behavior’.”

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The petitioners are seeking “alternatives to criminalization,” including more public bathrooms, showers and drinking water dispensers, storage lockers, mental health workers and paramedics, overdose reversal nasal spray and syringe disposal containers.

“When people’s vital needs are met, they are less likely to disrupt public order or commit crimes,” they wrote in their statement.

In response, the board of elections received the petition at its November 5 meeting and scheduled the requested special Town Meeting without comment.

Members Peter Case, Elizabeth McLoughlin and Franz Reichsman called for an urgent response when approving regulation 3-2 in September, while colleagues Richard Davis and Daniel Quipp said they wanted to take more time before making a decision.

But other residents complained that the community had been too tolerant for too long. Teams attending recent standing-room-only selection board meetings encouraged local leaders to not only approve the ordinance but also increase the number of local police officers in the budget from 27 to 30 and seek up to six support staff for a new officer. Brattleboro Response Assistance Team or BRAT.

“We want to be understanding, but you have to be realistic that at some point you have to start thinking about everyone else, too,” Police Chief Norma Hardy said at one hearing about people overdosing on park benches, bathing and urinating in fountains. who lives here?

A real estate group seeking to rebuild on the site of the recently burned down Athletes’ Hall downtown confirmed that sentiment, seeking municipal assurances before building new townhomes there.

Vermont State Police determined that the boarded-up building on Canal Street was “frequently visited by homeless individuals living in slums.” November 7 fireOne researcher wrote in his own book: reportand “the fire appears to be the result of direct human intervention.”

In response, property owner Michael Gilman said: Brattleboro Reformer: “Since 2021, we have noticed more crime, more lawlessness, more homelessness, and there have been no consequences. … There must be consequences for this.”

The Special Town Meeting will be held at the Academy School on December 12 at 6 p.m., and the petitioners will plan a public education event at the Brooks Memorial Library on November 18 at 6 p.m.