AUBURN – Standing with his attorney at his side, Androscoggin County Sheriff Guy Desjardins said Friday that he hopes to avoid a court battle with the County Commission.

But if he must sue them, he will.

“I’m ready to push this as far as I can push it,” Desjardins said in a morning press conference. “I need answers.” The main answer he needs is one of authority: Does he have the right to hire personnel?

Desjardins’ attorney, Jonathan Berry of Portland, believes the answer is yes.

After consulting with Berry, Desjardins bucked the commission, deciding Monday to begin the process of hiring for a controversial new deputy position meant to boost the number of officers on the road late at night.

Though the county Budget Committee funded the job, commissioners have refused to allow the sheriff to hire an officer for the position, citing worry that the state might not give the county $180,000 in expected revenue.

The Sun Journal was unable Friday to reach any of the three commission members.

On Tuesday, commission Chairman Elmer Berry said he planned to consult county attorney Bryan Dench on the matter.

Attorney Berry, who is no relation to the chairman, insisted that the law and precedent is on Desjardins’ side.

Citing several court cases, including a 1917 challenge that happened here in Androscoggin County, Berry portrayed the sheriff’s office as apart from the other department heads in the county.

Rather than an employee of the county, the sheriff sits on a parallel position with the commission, much as the county’s district attorney.

“The commission wouldn’t tell (District Attorney) Norm Croteau who to prosecute,” Berry said.

Berry cited 1917’s Sawyer v. Commissioners of Androscoggin County, which described the sheriff as “the chief executive law enforcement officer of the state in his county.”

A tradition of deferring to the County Commission has unintentionally eroded the sheriff’s power, he said.

To the attorney, the commission might be better described as coordinators.

Imagine the county as a bus, Berry said.

“They make sure there are wheels for the bus,” he said. “They make sure there is gas for the bus.

“Right now, they have hijacked the bus and are exercising operational control over his office,” Berry continued. “We are fully prepared to bring this into a court of law if necessary, however we anticipate and we hope that they will make amends with the sheriff, see the error of their ways and begin to give the taxpayers the services they have already bargained for.”

Desjardins hopes it will all be settled quickly, at least before he makes a choice for the new deputy.

“I don’t like the conflict,” he said.

He currently has two applicants for the job and more may be coming. The deadline for applications is May 11.

County Treasurer Bob Poulin has said he would be unable to pay a new officer unless he or she is recognized by the commission.