AUBURN — The Lisbon Town Council has asked the Androscoggin County Commission to reject a proposal to hire a dedicated deputy sheriff to patrol state Route 4.
Commissioners gave initial approval in September following an increasing number of severe accidents, including fatalities, along the corridor that extends from Auburn to Turner, Livermore and Livermore Falls.
The dedicated patrol was meant to slow traffic and make Route 4 safer for commuters and residents.
Lisbon Town Council Chairman Harry Moore made the request in an email to the commissioners. He plans to attend the Nov. 15 meeting when commissioners are expected to finalize and approve the 2024 county budget.
“As Chair of the Lisbon Town Council, I speak on behalf of our Council in expressing our position that the taxpayers of Lisbon ought not to be burdened with the added expense of police coverage for a town that, by all accounts, has the calls for service volume to the Sherriff’s Department to justify contracting with said Sherriff’s Department to provide a dedicated Deputy at their expense, as does the town of Poland,” Moore wrote, referencing Turner.
Poland contracts with Androscoggin County for police services.
Turner, which will benefit from having a dedicated deputy covering traffic enforcement, does not.
Calling it a “budgetary overreach,” Moore said Turner should bear the burden of paying for any extra patrols on Route 4.
Livermore and Livermore Falls, also located in Androscoggin County, will also benefit from the dedicated patrols.
“The current proposed FY 24 budget county tax burden for the town of Lisbon is now just shy of one million dollars at $944,694.00, an increase of $108,402.00 from last year,” Moore wrote. “We believe that adding an additional $150,000, with or without ARPA funding, to hire an additional deputy for the Turner area to address traffic issues on a state highway without fully examining other means to address these issues, as well as the increasing call volume for Turner, is a budgetary overreach.”
The county had proposed using ARPA funds to cover the cost of a police cruiser, radio, gun, cameras, proper markings and other equipment needed to equip a cruiser. The deputy’s salary would be paid through the county budget.
The decision to add a dedicated patrol officer to the Route 4 corridor came after several recent serious accidents. The road is a busy major, mostly two-lane thoroughfare through the county with vehicles driving at high speeds. It is the major route between the Twin Cities of Lewiston-Auburn to Rumford and Farmington.
When it was first proposed, Commissioner Garrett Mason of Lisbon said that, constitutionally, policing is the top job of the county. “It’s our job to make that road safe.”
“Most of the residents in the surrounding communities take Route 4,” Commissioner Terri Kelly of Mechanic Falls added at the time. “This will save lives.”
On Wednesday, commissioners did not comment on Moore’s request, but will discuss it at their next meeting Nov. 15, when Moore is expected to attend.
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