AUBURN – The second in command at the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office plans to step aside from his role as acting chief deputy.

The reason: his promotion came with a $10,000 pay cut.

“The job is a great opportunity for my career,” Eric Samson said Wednesday as he rejected a salary of $42,000 a year. “The opportunity can’t be at the cost of my family’s needs.”

Had he accepted the offer of the three-member county commission, he would have become the lowest paid chief deputy in Maine.

A Sun Journal survey of all 16 Maine counties found that pay for the job, mandated by state law, currently runs between $44,706 per year in Oxford County to $81,900 in Cumberland County.

“I kept thinking of my son and daughter’s education,” said Samson, who has kept his sergeant’s pay since taking on the role in January 2007. His pay for the past several years has been between $52,000 and $54,000 a year, which includes overtime.

County commissioners forced the issue Wednesday, asking Samson to accept their offer of $42,000 or return to his old job as the county jail’s program director.

The current budget includes only $37,000 for the chief deputy’s position.

“Eric is being paid as a program officer,” Commissioner Helen Poulin told Sheriff Guy Desjardins. “If he’s not, you have to let us know what he is.”

Both Poulin and Elmer Berry, the commission chairman, praised Samson’s job performance. The third commissioner, Constance Cote, was absent.

“We hear nothing but good things about you from the rank and file in the department,” Berry told Samson.

However, Berry and Poulin said they were tired of leaving his job status unresolved.

It remains murky.

When the commission meeting ended, Desjardins met with Samson and his captains – Jail Administrator John Lebel and Patrol Capt. Raymond Lafrance – and asked them to continue answering to Samson as their boss.

He will remain the acting chief until someone else can be found to fill the job, the sheriff said.

“I’ve got no choice,” Desjardins said. “I need help in that position.”

The chief deputy oversees the day-to-day operation of the jail, coordinating between the sheriff, the captains and the officers, Desjardins said. He is also working several ongoing projects including a drive to get the jail accredited and its consolidation with a just-created statewide network.

Desjardins cited state law in his choice to keep Samson in acting capacity for now. Statute clearly states that a sheriff “shall appoint” a chief deputy.

To Desjardins, that leaves no room for the job to be vacant.

“What happens if, God forbid, I am hit by a car tonight?” he said. “Who’s going to be in charge?”

He’ll try to find a permanent chief, he said, but he has little hope that the commission’s offer is enough to get a strong candidate.

“They’re sending me to the store with $2 and asking me to buy a gallon of milk,” Desjardins said. “It can’t be done.”

The sheriff’s choice to fill the position with an acting chief has been controversial since he first took office in January 2007 amid a heated budget battle. It was overshadowed last year by a tug-of-war between the commission and the sheriff over his attempts to hire a new deputy. The position had been approved by the budget committee, but the commission had refused to spend the money.

The fight ended in court last summer with a decision that favored the commission.

On Wednesday, both Lebel and Lafrance pleaded with the commissioners to offer more money, enough to keep Samson in the role.

“(Samson) holds the respect of the whole staff, all three divisions,” the jail administrator said.

“This is not about money,” Berry said. “It’s about authority.”

Once again, the sides seem ready for a tug of war. The sheriff and the commissioners both plan to seek advice over what to do next, they said.

Desjardins said he believes a friendly solution is possible. He was heartened that he and Berry had worked closely together on the jail consolidation issue, proving that they can cooperate, he said.

“We can settle this,” he said.

county sheriff chief deputy

Androscoggin $49,972 $37,000 (budgeted)

Aroostook $57,223 $49,971

Cumberland $75,600 $81,900

Franklin $53,206 $47,909

Hancock $58,000 $57,960

Kennebec $61,272 $57,322

Knox $54,288 $49,138

Lincoln $56,646 $54,685

Oxford $50,294 $44,706

Penobscot $64,085 $46,981

Piscataquis $57,000 $53,999

Sagadahoc $66,700 $55,167

Somerset $53,976 $46,633

Waldo $58,296 $50,344

Washington $49,150 $45,530

York $71,529 $69,190