Northumberland Faces Staffing Crisis After Wave of Resignations in Town Office and Police Department

The town of Northumberland is grappling with significant turnover among municipal staff, with five key employees — including the town administrator and three of four police officers — resigning over the past month. The departures have left the town of about 2,100 residents short-staffed and prompted scaled-back town office hours. The Select Board is working to fill the vacancies, but has not announced a timeline for new hires. “The Select Board is aware of the situation, and we’re going to be moving forward with interviews and trying to get quality people in to fill the void,” said board member Alan Rossetto. Town Administrator Tammy Letson and her administrative assistant were among the recent departures. Last week, the town office announced it would operate on reduced hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Without those staff members, day-to-day operations have been strained, Rossetto said. Despite the challenges, Rossetto said “We’re three guys trying to do the best job we can, because we think the town is worth putting in the time for. ”the resignations also hit the Northumberland Police Department hard. Police Chief Peter Pelletier and officers Kyler Kenison and Kevin Deluca have all left, leaving Lt. William Daisey as the department’s sole officer. With the department short-staffed, New Hampshire State Police Troop F will handle calls when Daisey is not on duty. There is no direct cost to the town for those calls, though the town could choose to contract details for dedicated coverage. Perkins said. “The Northumberland PD has left a sour taste in many people’s mouths.”