The Lincoln County Commissioners discussed expanding drug enforcement efforts at a meeting with Federal Drug Enforcement Agency official Mike Woodruff July 20.
At the Commissioners’ biweekly meeting, Sheriff Todd Brackett, with the backing of Woodruff, presented an agreement between the DEA and Lincoln County in which a new staff member would be added to the Sheriff’s Office dedicated solely to drug enforcement efforts. Lincoln County would work in conjunction with a Mid-Coast Region Task Force, which consists of five other counties.
According to the proposal the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office would provide a staff person and vehicle for 14 months from Aug. 2010 to Oct. 2011. While Lincoln County would pay the salary and benefits of the staff member, the DEA would reimburse the county up to, plus or minus, $17,200 for overtime costs and all fuel expenses.
Lincoln County would also gain an equal share of all forfeited assets received during the 14-month time frame. Even if a drug bust occurs outside the Task Force’s jurisdiction, Lincoln County would still receive a share of the forfeited assets if the investigative work that led to the seizure occurred in Lincoln County.
“It’s a mutual collaboration…everything is equal among everybody,” said Woodruff.
The amount received in forfeited assets would vary from year to year, other towns already in the task force reported an average share of $40,000 to $60,000 per year. The town of Brewer, not in the five county task force, reported that one forfeiture would net them $400,000.
“This proposal will take us a step up, in my mind, to the next level of investigative work, “said Brackett, “It will really get us closer to the source of those people that are bringing the drugs into Lincoln County.”
Brackett added that the partnership would bring free national training, a result of the partnership with the DEA, to those Lincoln County agents involved task force. This, according to Brackett, would continue to benefit the local police force well after the 14-month trial agreement ended, even if the county decided not to continue to be a member of the task force.
Despite Brackett’s strong support, the Commissioners raised some red flags. Commissioners Sheridan Bond and Lynn Gilley Orne raised questions about the cost of hiring another staff member.
Commissioner Bond questioned whether the assets received from forfeitures would make up the cost of hiring a new person. Woodruff insisted that the average forfeiture intake was $40,000-$60,000 each year, enough to pay back the salary of a new staff member. It was noted, however, that forfeiture retrieval can take three to four years based on the court system.
“The forfeitures are the unknown…Yes we might be fortunate one year, but maybe not fortunate the next year,” said Commissioner Bond.
Brackett recognized the commissioners’ concerns, but suggested that they look at the issue from a law enforcement perspective.
“I’m looking at the drug issue in Lincoln County,” Brackett said. “I’m an elected official, I’m sensitive to taxpayer concerns about how we utilize their funds, but we have a very serious drug problem here. The cold hard facts is that there is no way to get at that without spending money.”
He added that Lincoln County’s position as a central corridor for drug trafficking would make it likely that financial concerns would be addressed.
Commissioner Orne made it clear that she sympathized with the law enforcement perspective on the issue, but raised concerns about the ultimate cost.
“I would love to see 10 agents in Lincoln County do nothing but pound the pavement and do whatever they need for drug enforcement. However, do you have, say, $60,000 in your budget this year?” said Orne.
Commissioner Bond also questioned the fairness of the collaboration efforts. He noted that Lincoln County taxpayers might be forced to pay for a new agent that would benefit other counties that did not contribute as much financially. He wondered if it would be better to maintain the current state of affairs, where the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency reimburses Lincoln County’s anti-drug efforts.
All forfeitures in Lincoln County currently go the MDEA.
The commissioners decided to table the proposal until their next meeting, Aug. 3.
