ROYALSTON — A trio of Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion questions were approved by voters at a special election on Tuesday and an override was defeated on a vote that couldn’t have been any closer.

The override that would have provided $75,411 for the hiring of a full-time police officer resulted in a deadlock vote of 111-111 with two ballots left blank. Had the question passed, Police Chief Curtis Deveneau would have been able to hire what would have been Royalston’s sole full-time officer.

Since she had never seen a vote end in a tie, Town Clerk Barbara Richardson contacted state election officials to get an official determination of how to proceed in the wake of Tuesday’s results. Richardson told the Athol Daily News in an email that the state responded, “If the question is a tie between yes and no, the question does not pass. If it were an office, a tie is a failure to elect.”

At a number of public meetings, Deveneau explained the officer was needed to increase the amount of police coverage for residents. The chief has seen his department dwindle from a force of 19 part-time officers just over two years ago to only nine today.

Deveneau attributes the drop in officers, in large part, to the 2020 police reform law that was passed by Beacon Hill lawmakers in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer earlier that year. The law requires part-time officers to undergo the same amount of training that is required for full-timers — 40 hours each of firearms training, 40 hours of defensive tactics training and a 40-hour course in the operation of emergency vehicles. According to Deveneau, most part-timers have other jobs and are unable to take off work to attend the training courses.

“Based on the fact it didn’t pass,” said Deveneau, “we’ll just continue as is, operating with part-time staff and the outgoing shifts just responding to emergencies. At times when we’re not available due to staffing, calls will be forwarded to the State Police.”

The chief said he will continue his attempts to recruit more part-time officers but “unfortunately ... it’s not easy to recruit officers to part-time positions any longer in Massachusetts.”

In March, the town inked a service agreement with the State Police to provide help with policing coverage. State Police have previously provided coverage for Royalston during the overnight shift, with the agreement now providing service during the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 3 to 11 p.m. shifts when necessary. The arrangement, however, is not considered a long-term solution to the town’s community policing needs.

Despite being disappointed with the outcome, Deveneau said he was glad that people did get out and vote, but added, “It would be great if we could get more participation.”

“I really didn’t know how [the override] was going to go,” said Selectboard Chair Shelby Bronnes, “but to have it be a tie is shocking. We are waiting to hear from our town clerk on what to do next.”

Richardson said it is unclear at this point whether the override will go before voters in another special election later this fall.

In other balloting, Question 1, which sought approval for a $72,000 debt exclusion for the purchase of a new 1-ton pickup truck for the Department of Public Works, passed by a margin of 131-92. Question 2, which sought a debt exclusion of $62,000 for a new police cruiser, passed 120-101. And Question 4, asking approval for a debt exclusion of $699,000, passed on a vote of 129-94. The money will be used to transform the former Raymond School building into a new home for town offices. Offices currently housed in Whitney Hall in the South Village will be moved once the renovations are completed.

Richardson said a total of 224 voters showed up to cast ballots on Tuesday, or just over 20% of the town’s 1,108 registered voters.

Bronnes said she was “pleased with the number of voters who came out, but we strive to get more every election.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.