WILTON — Police Chief Ethan Kyes updated the Select Board during last week’s meeting about staffing the department while two officers are on medical leave and two positions are vacant.

Wilton Police Chief Ethan Kyes Wilton Police Department photo

There are three full-time officers, including Kyes, working varying shifts to try to fill the gaps in staffing, he said. The shifts range from six hours to 48 hours. If an officer is working a 24-hour shift or longer they do have an opportunity to rest, but need to be on-call to respond if called out to a crash, crime or other emergency.

Kyes, who has been in law enforcement for nine years, including over two years as chief, has also been able to have police officers from other departments work a shift when they are able to do so.

“We are doing everything we can to prevent burnout,” he said.

Applications for a job with the department are available at wiltonmaine.org/police.

“We were full staffed for two years,” Kyes said. “In 2022, the Select Board offered $160 to $200 from American Rescue Plan Act funds to supplement police officer salaries. But that has gone away.”

Starting pay for a police officer in Wilton without any experience is $23.88 an hour; training will be required for new hires. For a trained officer who completes the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro, the hourly wage is $24.94 an hour for the first three years.

All police department contract negotiations have been competitive, Kyes said. The Wilton department lost one officer recently to the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office. Some local departments in the area have had two out-of-contract raises, he said.

“Additionally, in the last year we have lost two officers to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office,” he said.