SOUTHBURY, Conn. -- A resident state trooper currently commands the town's approximately 24 officers, but residents voted Tuesday on whether they should hire a police chief instead.

Supporters of the change said it will save the town money in the long run and give them more control of their own independent police department, but opponents said it will cost residents more.

"It'll mean more control and be cheaper for the town," Southbury First Selectman Bill Davis said.

The Board of Selectmen said the change will let town leaders choose the perfect person for the job and allow them to concentrate on making decisions that would fit Southbury's needs.

Last year, officials said, the town finished a $1.4 million renovation at its police department. The first selectman said the town would only need an evidence locker and a holding area for vehicles.

He said hiring a chief instead of a trooper, and getting the town police department up to speed, would mean a onetime cost of $52,000 and an annual cost of $17,000.

But resident Carol Renza said she disagrees.

"We just don't need it," she said.

Renza, a former selectman, voted no on the proposal and said that no matter what others say, the police department will end up adding officers, staff and equipment at a cost the taxpayers will ultimately bear.

"People in town are suffering," she said. "We don't need another bureaucracy."

Polls remained open until 8 p.m.

As for the Connecticut State Police, a spokesman pointed out benefits of having a resident trooper, but that they're supportive of professional law enforcement, no matter who supplies it.