The Lincoln County Commissioners tabled a request from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for a two-year teaching contract with Sgt. Jason Nein of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
Speaking before the Commissioners at their regular meeting Dec. 6, Sheriff Todd Brackett said the Academy specifically requested Nein to serve as an instructor for its basic law enforcement training program.
The contract would begin in January 2012 and last for two years. The Academy would reimburse the County $65,000 per year for Sgt. Nein’s services. Nein would still work 400 hours per year for the Sheriff’s Office on accident reconstruction and other department needs.
Because Nein would spend most of his time at the Academy, Brackett requested the Commissioners replace him with temporary full-time employee. The cost of the new employee, Bracket estimated, would be no more than $63,584.
The request was ultimately tabled until the Board could ascertain the complete cost of the contract to the county. According to a memo circulated to the Board, the Academy’s reimbursement would not cover some $4400 of Sgt. Nein’s salary.
Commissioner Lynn Gilley Orne questioned whether the County should be picking up part of the bill for Nein’s reassignment.
“I don’t think we should pick up any expense,” Orne said. “Why should we fund the criminal justice academy on the back of county people?”
Brackett assured the Board that the County would not have to pick up any extra tab.
“It is my thought that the cost for Sgt. Nein will be borne by the County whether or not he is assigned to the Academy,” Brackett wrote in the memo.
The new employee would essentially be funded by money already designated for Nein’s salary. The remaining $4400 not covered by the Academy’s reimbursement would be put toward equipping the new employee and providing vehicle expenses for Nein. Because Nein’s salary is more than entry-level, the $4400 would have already been covered in the Sheriff Office’s budget.
Brackett encouraged the Commissioners to look beyond the dollar amount of the contract. Having an instructor at the Academy, he said, would open up more training spots at the Academy for LCSO.
Brackett also said that sending an LCSO employee would emphasize the County’s “commitment to improving and sustaining the high quality training services provided by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy to law enforcement professionals all over Maine.”
According to Pellerin, the gel inside car batteries can produce chloride gas if it becomes wet.
Boothbay and Newcastle Hazmat teams responded to the accident and safely placed the split batteries in barrels of dry sand.
The cost of the cleanup will be passed on to Time Warner.
