MONMOUTH – Voters will decide Tuesday whether to dissolve the local police department and enter a contract with the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department. Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Cumston Hall.
The county’s draft budget indicated sheriff’s department coverage would cost the town $314,280 for four deputies working on a rotating schedule, with an on-call deputy used during off hours.
Maintaining the local police department would cost about $50,000 more, according to Interim Chief James Minkowsky.
That price would include new equipment, policies and standards and would allow the town to retain local control with a new chief and a proposed new sergeant.
Tuesday’s referendum will cap months of controversy after a critical report was released by the Maine Chiefs of Police Association last summer.
The Board of Selectmen split into factions, some urging that the department be dissolved.
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