To the Editor:
As we look back at comments made regarding the Sheriff’s Department taking over some of Damariscotta Police Department hours in keeping our residents safe.
I went to visit the sheriff and asked if he had enough staff to provide the same coverage as we have now with our own department. He concluded that the Sheriff’s Office did not have enough officers to provide the same coverage that we have now. I then asked him about the $83,000 a number that was used to depict Damariscotta’s share of the county budget that covered Sheriff’s office’s services and had been used at the meeting. He replied he didn’t know how to break down his budget to get the $83,000 in a simplistic form.
I then went to the courthouse and found out that Damariscotta pays 4.635 percent of the county budget.
Looking at the sheriff’s budget, the closest I could get to the $83,000 was looking at the personnel line and using the 4.635 percent with it coming out at $73,000 for 2010, but this line includes all the salaries for Sheriff’s office personnel, from the Sheriff to civil process deputies. This budget is complex with a total of $2,207,987 for 2010. This is certainly a large amount of money but the Sheriff’s Department covers 15 towns and assists four others. (Data from County budget)
Looking back at crime data, Damariscotta’s violent crime, on a scale from 1 (low crime) to 10 (high crime rate is a 5. Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder, non negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The US average is 4.
In property crime, on the same scale mentioned above, includes the offences of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Damariscotta’s rate is 5. The object of the theft-type offenses is the taking of money or property, but there is no force or threat of force against the victims. The US rate is 4.
Data from www.bestplaces.net/city/maine/damariscotta.
Damariscotta’s town meeting is scheduled for June 15, location pending. Watch the local papers.
Mary Trescot, Megan Drake
Damariscotta
