Nederland to lose its last police officer

It's been a long decline. The town of Nederland in Boulder County is looking at a future with no police department. 

There will be no one working there. It's a combination of factors over several years that has led to the loss of officers and the inability to hire more. Chief Jennifer Fine-Loven is resigning effective at the end of September. The chief, also known as Marshal in Nederland, said she could not discuss why. 

The town's mayor pro-tem gave a similar answer but said there was no problem with the chief's work. But it will leave the town without a functioning department that has existed for decades. Two other officers also recently left the force. 

"She has been keeping things afloat for two months now. There's no reason why in my mind to figure out some plan to keep her and give her what she needs. That is more police officers," said Claudia Schauffler, owner of a store named "The Shop," right near the police department.

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office, which is currently handling law enforcement nights and weekends would likely become the new law enforcement agency if the town can negotiate a deal. But the town could also make a new effort to fund and staff up the department, with a new effort to get chief Fine-Loven to stay or with a new chief. 

"There's a lot of sentiment for keeping a police department," said mayor pro-tem Tom Mahowald. 

Mahowald said he supported the chief and would like to keep her on. 

"There are things that Marshal Fine-Loven can do that really nobody else can do without this connection to the community… She's very good at what she does. She understands more than most how to de-escalate. Which is an awful lot of what policing is all about."

Police officers and sheriff's deputies have been hard to find all around Colorado in recent years. Denver is down 168 officers currently. Denver is currently training 64 police recruits, but will still be well behind in staffing. Aurora is short 40. The Boulder County Sheriff's Office is down 4.5%.

Hiring all over has been affected by changes in state law like the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act of 2020 that created more stringent requirements for police in use of force cases and required body cameras. Nederland has been trying to figure out how to pay for cameras, plus add computers in cars. Its cars are often older vehicles purchased from the sheriff's office. But likely the biggest hiring problem has been officer pay. 

"I think we've underpaid compared to what they can make with other departments, said Mahowald. "Because I know they can go over the county line into Gilpin or they can go into other departments in Boulder, everybody knows that."

The town's budget for the police department has risen in recent years. They have increased pay, but not nearly enough for officers to live in town with sky-high Boulder County home prices. Mahowald thinks it may take $500,000 more to properly fund the department which would put the budget for the department in a town of 1,500 well beyond $1 million. 

"It's clearly going to go north of a million going forward. Versus a solution that's probably going to cost less upfront depending on what we select from the menu." 

That other solution is negotiating the cost of full-time law enforcement coverage from the Boulder County Sheriff. The sheriff's office already does enforcement between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and on most weekends. It would likely be able to handle it at a lower cost to the town than the town staffing its own police department.

Schauffler says she believes having a local police department is better. 

"You know it's really important to have a relationship with your police department, especially as a business owner. They don't know the town, they don't know the people," she said of the sheriff's office. "I mean why would they?" 

It all comes at a time when she's noticed more crime.

The town has to decide whether to continue the police department and add money for salaries and other department needs. That could include trying to keep Fine-Loven in command or by hiring a new chief. Or the town could attempt to negotiate with the sheriff for full-time law enforcement coverage.

There is an election Wednesday with Mahowald facing opposition for the mayor's position in addition to the selection of new trustees. The town currently has only four due to departures. The new board would be faced with potentially deciding whether to put a question on the November ballot asking for a tax increase to pay for the continuation of the police department. If the request was for an additional $500,000, that would be tough math. With just 410 homes in Nederland, that would mean an average increase in property taxes of $1,200.

WATCH CBS NEWS COLORADO SPECIAL: Nederland with Alan Gionet