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After the retirement of State Trooper Greg Hunter, as of last Friday Matt Weber is the new Resident State Trooper supervising policing in Old Lyme.
According to Sergeant Mark Devine of State Troop F, Hunter had been planning to retire for several months and the constables at the Old Lyme office have been aware of the impended changeover.
The Old Lyme Board of Finance was not aware that a new state trooper would be replacing Hunter until last week.
“The other officers have known for a while,” Devine said. “If he chose not to tell the town until this week, then that was his prerogative.”
Although a resident state trooper supervises the police force in Old Lyme, the town does not have a direct say in who will take Hunter’s place.
“We run a process for what we think is the best fit. It includes an oral board presentation and it is always competitive,” Devine said. “Since the trooper is taking on supervisory responsibilities we want a person with a good amount of time on the force. We have had a guy with two to three years be selected in the past, but they typically have at least ten years or more.”
As part of the resident state trooper program, Old Lyme is responsible for paying the trooper’s salary and benefits which are set by the state.
A younger, less experienced trooper reduces the cost of the program significantly, and the same is true in reverse. Finance Director Nicole Stajduhar said that she is not yet sure whether the new trooper’s salary and benefits will add or subtract from the coming year’s budget.
Weber, who is spending his first week in Old Lyme on vacation, was unable to be reached for comment.