MECHANIC FALLS – The possibility of eliminating the town’s police department became more than a hypothetical question in recent weeks when town officials met with the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office.
However, preliminary discussions and a proposed contract have prompted additional questions and have caused anxiety among staff and elected officials, Town Manager Dana Lee said. The Town Council is expected to take up the issue at its next meeting Feb. 7, he said.
“Ultimately it will be up to the citizens,” council Chairman William Diehl said. “But we want to make sure that everyone knows the consequences of their decision. This is too important to the town.”
Town Council meetings begin at 7 p.m. and are held at the Town Office at 108 Lewiston St.
“For the past two years, various people have asked how come we don’t look into county policing,” Lee said. “This thing has been bandied about, so it was time we found out what we were looking at.”
The town asked for a proposal from the Sheriff’s Office in October and received a draft contract on Jan. 14, said Lee, who is in the midst of preparing the 2005-06 budget due Feb. 9. The town’s Budget Committee will meet on the new budget on Feb. 23.
The cost of contracting with the county for law enforcement would be about $228,000, according to a proposed contract dated Jan. 11. The savings to the town would be about $80,000, Lee said.
The town’s current police budget accounts for about 15 percent of Mechanic Falls’ municipal expenses, Lee said.
Current negotiations include hiring four of the five town Police Department officers as Sheriff’s Office employees, said Sheriff’s Office Capt. Raymond Lafrance. The officers would provide 24-hour, seven-day service, he said.
But Lee said that additional contract clauses and unknown costs have blurred the financial picture. The county offers a one-year contract and reserves the right to change it based on what happens in that first year, he said.
“It’s impossible to compare apples to apples here,” said Lee. “It’s very difficult for me to get my arms around what the full cost of this thing might be.”
In the meantime, the town’s Police Department is hoping that council members and the community will want to keep current law enforcement services.
“We feel we give the town superb police protection,” said Police Chief Jeffrey Goss. “I’m hoping that the council like the Police Department and the people that they have now.”
Goss, who has been with the department for 17 years and has served as chief since 1992, declined to comment on how ongoing discussions are affecting his staff.
“It’s a hard thing for these guys,” Lee said. “On the one hand, they’re getting all kinds of praise on what a great job they’ve been doing, and we’re talking about whether to go with the county or not.”
The Police Department received kudos at a recent Town Council meeting for solving a rash of burglaries this past year.
County law enforcement currently provides rural patrol services for all municipalities without a police department. Since 1982, the Sheriff’s Office has contracted with the town of Poland for services above and beyond rural patrol.
The Sheriff’s Office dedicates two full-time patrol officers for 16 hours a day, plus a school officer to Poland.
“It’s all in what the town wants for services,” said Lafrance. “The town of Poland has a lot of control over their contract. The key is involvement. We look at this as a partnership, and we’ve had an excellent relationship with Poland.”
Comments are no longer available on this story