Here is the text of Elmer Berry’s letter to Leeds selectmen (written on Androscoggin County stationery).

TO: Leeds Selectmen

FROM: Commissioner Elmer Berry

DATE: May 17, 2007

Gentlemen (Sorry for your disappointment)

I can understand your frustration as well as our predicament. As you can see from the car report things are not as you were led to believe. First of all, we have 14 towns in Androscoggin of these the following have their own police departments; Livermore Falls, Sabattus, Lisbon, Lewiston, Mechanic Falls and Auburn. Poland is under contract and pays for its own cruiser, personnel and expenses for operations leaving 7 to be patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department.

I hope you’re aware that when the Sheriff’s Department patrols your side, the State Police patrol the other half then the following month they switch sides. In other words, the Sheriff’s Department is patrolling only 1/2 of the remaining 7 towns. If you look at their car assignment you will see that we have adequate vehicles to do the job and each is manned with an officer. I offer you the problem is mismanagement of resources and an attempt to build a bigger department at the taxpayers’ expense. You may not know that the budget committee took all our reserve monies approximately $700,000 plus $180,000 of the 2008 community corrections funds to offset the 2007 budget leaving a gap for any emergency that might arrive.

As for the $180,000 it looks like we may not even receive it at all as the State is talking about using those monies for overcrowding of there (sic) facilities in which case we must fill a budget hole where those monies were used by the budget committee. Now to further compound the problem LD 1478 which states the county must reduce the county assessment upon any municipality of its tax apportionment by 33% of that municipality if they have their own police department. In my opinion this is totally ridiculous. Case in point, Lewiston Public Safety budget $10,127,560 x 33% = $3,342,094.90 or approximately 1 million more than they are currently assessed. Why? Because the cities think you and I who live in the towns are not paying our fair share with county patrol and they feel they are subsidizing the towns. That is one reason I wanted to charge each department for its own booking of prisoners and transportation of same to which the towns are actually subsidizing them when you for example look at the arrest sheets and compare hundreds of arrest (sic) in Lewiston and other cities as to a hand full from the towns. This problem is very complex and I could go on for pages upon pages. But I will close with this. You are not being told the whole story and in my opinion some people have to say what they are told to say for job security or other reasons. Please believe I am here to benefit and watch out for the towns and its taxpayers. I have also enclosed a statement given to Dan Hartill, reporter, Lewiston Sun Journal of which he chose not to use which is another example of the one sided press.

Elmer Berry, Chairperson

Androscoggin County Commissioners

Cc:

Town of Durham

Town of Greene

Town of Livermore

Town of Minot

Town of Turner

Town of Wales