City of Fairmont officials and the police department have been under some heat in recent years. The general complaint:?Too many police officers, with the resulting nuisance:?too many traffic stops, too much attention paid to citizens who are just trying to live their lives in this quiet little town.

We admit we have been complicit, questioning the need for the number of officers, given Fairmont’s status as an aging town with a declining population. And, until recently, the major meth problems had disappeared.

But the police department and Chief Greg Brolsma, whom we trust implicitly, have a different perception. The department is down three officers in the past 15 years and it is struggling with many issues. These include lots of overtime, unused vacation time, case backlogs, more demand for code enforcement, the loss of the school resource officer and, yes, a resurgence in meth-related crimes.

There are lots of facts and figures thrown out about police staffing levels in other cities. Some of this may be valuable in addressing Fairmont’s situation, but we also tend to think our problems and issues are our own.

The City Council this week agreed to fund a $15,000 study to determine the need for additional officers. In light of the case Brolsma has been making, we have to agree this is a good idea. Should more officers be needed, so be it. We hope the City Council would follow up with hirings.

At the same time, we hope the police department will note the nature of citizens’ concerns: Can police tackle the big stuff and be more user-friendly to residents who aren’t big-time criminals.