FARMINGTON — Resident Ryan Morgan returned to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday evening, Sept. 12, with more information regarding his request to increase staffing at the Police Department.
At the Aug. 22 board meeting, Morgan suggested adding a detective and an officer to the Farmington Police Department to help fight the opioid situation.
Tuesday, Morgan said he was proposing the same thing with a detective working full time on narcotics. He also proposed increasing the baseline salary of current officers.
“We have tried to band aid [the Police Department],” he stated. “We have to do something. Our Police Department has been emptied. … There is a tremendous amount of drugs in our community.”
Morgan worried about what would happen if some of those drugs aren’t gotten off the streets. He repeated his fear from the August meeting regarding reading about a student overdosing on drugs.
Times have changed, it is no longer bike thefts, Morgan noted. He hoped the board would support increasing the Police Department.
“If we don’t do something, we are going to lose someone,” he said.
Police Chief Kenneth Charles presented costs associated with Morgan’s proposals.
Wages, overtime and fringe benefits for a patrol officer would be $88,347.89, a detective $95,538.41 for a total increase of $183,886.30. Other one year costs to add staff would be $74,800 and $69,800 respectively for a total of $144,600. In all, the increase would be $328.486.30 or 17.7%.
A $5 per hour increase in pay, including fringe benefit costs would be an increase of $185,248.11 or 10%. Both proposals would result in an increase of $513,734.41 or 27.7% for the Police Department over current figures.
Selectman Joshua Bell expressed concern that even with more police officers to track down offenders, the court may slap them on the wrist and release them. He suggested working with Regional School Unit 9 to pay for another school resource officer.
Every time Farmington raises pay for its Police Department, the county is going to increase theirs, Bell noted. “It happens every single time,” he stated.
Charles said there were hard questions to answer. How does one quantify the problems out there, he asked.
Getting the community more engaged is needed to help the department get information through community input or officer contacts, Charles said.
“Ryan is right,” Charles stated. “I have been working at this 20 years. … The problem has changed so much locally. … I could go on and on about the evolution. … The element from away is much more dangerous. Can I quantify it?”
“You are the stewards of safety of this community,” Morgan said. “I am the last guy who wants to raise taxes.”
The drug situation is rampant, there are people waiting to be seen in the emergency room any night, he noted. Morgan suggested holding a public hearing and vote on his suggestions.
Selectman Byron Staples asked if there was any idea on the number of repeat offenders. This is definitely something that needs to be discussed, he said. Taking a pause to look at potential options and see what can be done was his recommendation.
The best trained police force is wanted in Farmington, Selectman Dennis O’Neil said. Is adding to it productive, will it get a handle on drugs, he asked. Most people turn a deaf ear, blind eye to the drug situation until they end up in the emergency room, he noted.
O’Neil wasn’t sure the whole community would be on board with the Police Department increases being proposed. It was worth having the conversation, he stated.
Seeing statistics on past and present drug arrests, sales and seizures, and types of drugs involved would make the proposal stronger, as would seeing the district attorney’s standpoint, Selectman Stephan Bunker said. He also wanted more information on what salaries are in similarly sized Maine cities.
It will be a sticker shock if people see this proposal without a strong message, Bunker stated. He spoke of the Police Chiefs’ meeting in November, suggested asking then if Farmington is the only town with this issue.
“I want to be part of the solution,” Bunker said.
Chair Matthew Smith proposed asking the district attorney for more information.
Smith suggested tabling the issue to get more numbers. When developing the next budget would be a good time to consider it, he stated.
“That bottom number scares me,” Smith noted. “I know what it means. You can’t put a number on anyone’s life.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
