LIVERMORE FALLS — The police chief is concerned if the Budget Committee’s proposal to eliminate two officers from the six-man, full-time crew, passes, the safety of the townspeople and officers could be in jeopardy.

Ernest N. Steward Jr. has already reduced the Police Department’s budget by $53,000 to meet the town manager’s proposed reduction amount. Town Manager Jim Chaousis had proposed a plan to eliminate one officer and other items in the budget.

Members of the force sat down and came up with a number of reductions that met the same amount as Chaousis’ budget but in a different manner. Among them was to reduce the administrative assistant’s position to part time, and reserve officers were willing to buy their own uniforms and pay for training to keep the force intact.

With four officers, including himself, that just covers shifts and leaves officers with no backup, Steward said.

It’s a bad situation, he said.

If Livermore Falls or Jay is called to help either the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department or Maine State Police on a call in Livermore, the officers from Jay or Livermore Falls only go after sheriff’s deputies or state police call for an assist, Steward said.

But in the cases of Livermore Falls and Jay, the two departments each in a different county, have a mutual aid agreement that calls for working more closely together.

“We back each other up,“ Jay police Chief Larry White Sr. said. “We rely on each other. If one department is too busy the other will come over to handle a complaint.”

“It works out,” he said, and they don’t have to call in off-duty police officers. “If they make these cuts that won’t exist any more.”

Jay police are primarily responsible for the safety of Jay residents, White said, of the seven-member force including himself.

“It’s not that we don’t want to help them out but we cannot be the supplement Police Department for Livermore Falls at Jay taxpayers’ expense,” White said.

If there are only four full-time officers in Livermore Falls and they have to take a prisoner to Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn, an officer will be tied up from the time it takes to go there and come back, both chiefs said.

The same goes for court appearances that require an officer’s presence, Steward said.

If a Livermore Falls officer has to take someone who has a mental health issue for psychiatric evaluation, they have to stay with the person, he said. That can take six to eight hours.

There is also a two-hour time limit to enter bail conditions on a person in custody so that means an officer would need to bring a person down to the jail within that period, Steward said.

That would leave the town uncovered by the primary department for that amount of time, Steward said.

“It will affect both towns coverage of their towns,” he said.

If Livermore Falls is reduced to four officers, Steward said, then they’re looking at just basic coverage.

Police would not have the time to do meaningful, in-depth investigations that they are able to do now unless they want to pay overtime, he said.

“We have to take care of the people and each other at the same time,” Steward said.

If they cut the force back, White said in his opinion, “not only are they putting officer safety at risk, they are putting their whole community at risk.”

It would also hinder officers meeting training requirements because in many cases, there would be no one to replace them unless overtime is paid, Steward said.

People can’t always count on having a reserve officer available, because they have full-time jobs, he said.

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