Damariscotta Selectman David Atwater proposed deep cuts to the Damariscotta Police Dept. budget at an April 6 meeting of the Damariscotta Board.
The selectmen, by a 3-1 vote, recommended a $528,742 budget for the department two weeks prior, at a March 23 meeting.
Atwater voted in favor of the original recommendation, but asked the Board to reconsider at the April 6 meeting.
“I am quite concerned… about the cost of our police protection,” Atwater said.
According to Atwater’s calculations, in addition to the department budget, Damariscotta pays approximately $84,000 for its share of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) budget.
The number of full-time police officers per 1000 residents in Damariscotta is 2.7, Atwater pointed out, compared to 1.7 statewide.
The data reflects Damariscotta’s population (2218) as of the 2010 census and the department’s staff of six full-time officers.
Countywide, there are 1.3 full-time officers per 1000 residents, according to the 2009 Crime in Maine report, a publication of the Dept. of Public Safety.
Atwater said he recently found the results of a 2002 survey of Damariscotta residents that asked questions about police services.
Survey respondents overwhelmingly (89 percent) favored 24/7 police protection, but, as Atwater pointed out, many comments suggested that LCSO and the Maine State Police could cover certain hours.
The survey’s 286 respondents also suggested a variety of stop-gap measures, including an “on call” officer in the late night/early morning hours, a rotation for “off” hours in order to avoid a correlating jump in crime and/or limiting 24/7 coverage to the summer.
Atwater moved to cut the Damariscotta Police Dept. budget to provide for coverage 16 hours a day instead of 24.
According to Damariscotta Police Chief Steve Drake, sole reliance on LCSO and Maine State Police would significantly lengthen response times.
“State Police don’t have a presence here in Lincoln County,” Drake, a former state trooper, said. As for LCSO, “If they’re up in Somerville it might be an hour. It might be the next day.”
Later in the debate, Drake told Atwater “you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Atwater, however, received support from Damariscotta resident and law enforcement veteran Dick Mayer. “We currently have the third highest ratio of police to population in the state,” Mayer said.
“That’s significant,” Mayer said. “That’s a luxury and we’re paying for that. I’m a resident, I’m a taxpayer and I’m concerned about it.”
In 2009, according to the Crime in Maine report, which compiles the latest statistics readily available, five towns, including Boothbay Harbor, exceeded Damariscotta’s ratio, while five more towns matched it.
Mayer suggested various means of reducing the budget while maintaining adequate coverage, such as signing a formal agreement with LCSO.
“The level of crime in this town is not significant,” Mayer said. “We need to be ready for what is a reasonable challenge and what is a reasonable risk.”
Mayer, a senior police advisor for the U.S. State Dept., was the Brunswick Police Chief from 1974-1976. His resumé also includes a stint as the assistant director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
“I’ve conducted management studies” at over 250 police departments in the U.S., Mayer said. He helped create standards for The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
“I think a reasoned analysis and conclusion can be drawn to perhaps get us to a point where we can save some money and maintain the level of service the community requires and demands,” Mayer said.
Damariscotta citizen Becca Evans spoke in favor of 24/7 coverage. “I feel safe here, very safe,” she said. “That’s valuable to me.”
Damariscotta Town Manager Greg Zinser said the town needs to approach the issue in a “methodical fashion” and work with Drake to institute cost-saving measures like rearranging schedules and cutting overtime.
Zinser expressed support for involving a third party to study the issue.
Mayer said a study can cost $40,000-$50,000, but volunteered to lead the study himself free of charge. “We can do it right here in our community,” he said.
Chairman Dick McLean, Selectman Vicki Pinkham and Atwater told Drake their efforts to address the issue are an economic consideration and not a reflection on the work of the department.
“You can’t say that… when you’re talking about taking someone’s job,” Drake said.
“I had to let two people go,” Atwater, who owns The Bakery, said. “They lost their jobs because of tough economic times.”
“When times are bad, that’s when I have to get busy,” Drake replied.
Mayer said the study would take about three months and cost the town “a minimal amount of money” for printing expenses. Mayer said his colleagues would also volunteer their services.
Drake objected to Mayer’s involvement, calling him “obviously already biased.”
“I’d rather have the Chief of Police do [the study],” Drake said, referring to the head of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.
“You remember the meeting in my office when you acted very unprofessional?” Drake asked Mayer. “Did you or did you not lose your temper in my office?”
Mayer said he did not and called the allegations “ludicrous.” Drake excused himself from the meeting during Mayer’s response.
Mayer later said he met with Drake twice “about one particular complaint,” but he vehemently denied Drake’s allegations of unprofessional conduct.
The selectmen unanimously passed a motion for Zinser and Mayer to meet and form “a plan of attack” for a study.
Zinser and McLean said the police department budget is a recurring, contentious matter year after year. “We do need to do something and put this issue to rest,” Zinser said.
Following the meeting, Zinser put Drake on paid administrative leave (see “Damariscotta Police Chief on administrative leave” in this edition).
Several days later and after significant community backlash regarding Mayer’s involvement, Zinser said the town “would not seek [Mayer’s] assistance.”
The town plans to revisit the topic of a study “sometime in June,” Zinser said.