The point was made that the southwestern part of Oxford County needs more service.
PARIS – The county Budget Committee shot down an Oxford County Sheriff’s Office request to hire another deputy by a 4-3 vote Tuesday night.
“I’m disappointed as sheriff, but more disappointed for the citizens of Oxford County,” said Sheriff Lloyd Herrick. “Unfortunately, it was not supported by selectmen who serve on the Budget Committee.”
The final budget figures will not be available until next week. By cutting the proposed deputy, the county will save a salary of $27,752, cruiser cost of $18,000 and money for the proposed employee’s workers compensation, FICA, Maine State Retirement and other benefits.
Voting against the proposal were Selectmen Bruce Hanson, Paris; Eugene Boivin, Rumford; Dennis Sanborn, Oxford; and Monique Aniel, Mexico.
Selectmen Rob Heard of Porter and Richard Snow of Denmark said they were disappointed that the request failed. At the meeting, Snow made the point that the southwestern part of Oxford County needs more police service.
Hanson strongly opposed adding a deputy.
“I talked to neighboring towns as small as yours and they don’t want another deputy,” Hanson said to Heard and Snow. “When I went to Buckfield they said, ‘We’re contracting for a deputy now; why would we want to pay more?'”
Buckfield has a contract for 520 hours of service other than normal coverage with the OCSO.
Sensing defeat before the final vote, Herrick asked if there would be a change in attitude if he were to use $10,000 from drug forfeiture money to supplement the hiring costs. There was none.
There were two other cuts made to the sheriff’s budget in the Support of Prisoners section.
Because of a new state law mandating that county jails be charged no more than government-sanctioned service rates, $10,000 was taken from the professional fees account of $85,654 that had earlier been approved by commissioners.
The same law affects the cost of pharmaceuticals and Herrick suggested that $4,500 be taken from the commissioners’ proposed amount of $55,967.
The Budget Committee also voted to transfer $200,000 from surplus funds to reduce the tax impact from the budget. Commissioners had approved transferring $150,000.
Hanson pointed out that increased revenue from the Registry of Deeds would be able to cover an increased transfer.
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