MECHANIC FALLS – The Town Council unanimously voted Monday to keep the Mechanic Falls Police Department.
Council Chairman William Diehl declared Monday to a packed council chamber that there would be no further communication with the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office regarding a proposed contract to provide local law enforcement service.
Council members agreed to thank the sheriff’s office for its proposal and for the time spent on it.
Diehl emphasized that the council’s decision eliminates the need to bring the issue of law enforcement to the voters at the annual town meeting. The unanimous decision included a strong statement of support for the town’s police officers.
“So this means we will not pursue this any further,” said Town Manager Dana Lee, addressing the police officers present Monday. “We would like to thank our officers, and we’re sorry we put you through any grief at all.”
About 25 people attended Monday’s council meeting. Most of them came in support of the five-member Police Department and left after the council voted.
Police Chief Jeffrey Goss said he had received several supportive phone calls from people who had read about the town’s discussion with the sheriff’s office.
“It seems that there’s a great deal of support,” said Goss. “I had people tell me that if they couldn’t make it for the council meeting, that they would show up at town meeting. We really appreciate the reaction the town had.”
Goss added that even though the officers were worried, they were prepared to do whatever the council and residents desired.
Mechanic Falls resident Milton Walker, who also supported the town’s police, asked that town officials make efforts to cut department costs to keep property taxes down.
Goss said that his original budget proposal for this year’s town meeting was slightly higher than last year’s. However, he has since gone back over it and is asking for less money than last year’s budget.
“I went back through and looked at everything that I thought we could live without,” said Goss. “We want people to know that we’re making an effort to keep costs down.”
Talks with the county stemmed from budget concerns over the past few years. Lee asked the county for a proposal and received a draft contract that seemed to save the town about $80,000 at first glance.
However, several variables and unknown circumstances made the savings less clear.
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