ROCKPORT, Maine — One sentiment town officials heard on their road trip around town in September and October was the need for more police coverage — even if it meant higher property taxes.
Select board members decided earlier this year they needed to get out and hear what residents thought about town government. They hosted “listening” sessions in each of the five village areas within Rockport. Board Chairman Bill Chapman said in more than one meeting, the need for more police patrols was cited.
“It was a repeated complaint about speeding in the town,” Chapman said Thursday, “and that we needed to have better enforcement of that.”
Residents were especially concerned about speeding in the Simonton Corner area of town, he said. In the summer, locals often use Simonton Road to Park Street as a way to travel between Camden and Rockland to avoid busy U.S. Route 1. The speed limit drops from the Camden part of the road to the Rockport section.
Chapman said some residents related how drivers have been seen running the stop signs on the road.
“The traffic through there is pretty abysmal. They are flying through there,” he said.
The board explained to residents that the department has two fewer officers than in recent years. Then members floated the question, “What do you think of adding another officer?” Residents agreed to support the increased cost.
Police Chief Mark Kelley said Thursday that in the 2007-2008 budget year, the school resource officer, who worked at Camden Hills Regional High School when school was in session and for the town police department during the summer and vacation weeks, left the job and the school district chose not to continue the position. The school district paid three-quarters of the officer’s salary.
Then the following year, the select board eliminated a patrol officer position.
“Law enforcement is an easy target for municipal government to tinker with,” Kelley said, especially when considered against cuts to the fire or public works departments.
With fewer officers, the department’s administrative assistant began doing 20 hours per week of patrol work, the most allowed by law for an officer who has not attended the state police academy. And Kelley also patrols two mornings as the only officer on duty.
“It was a hard pill to swallow,” the chief said, but the department, which is on track to handle about 5,000 calls for service for 2012, made adjustments.
The five full-time officers often work overtime.
“There have been times when we’ve had to pay significant overtime,” Chapman said. Beyond the money, board members worry about “the wear and tear on the officers themselves,” he said. “It gets really trying on the officers.”
In preliminary budget discussions, Kelley has made what Chapman called a strong case for adding an officer. Other board members seem to favor the additional expense, Chapman said.
Kelley said for budget purposes, a new officer will cost the town about $50,000 annually, $36,000 for wages and the rest for benefits and other costs. Other departments, like Camden, pay more, making it difficult to hire experienced officers, he said.
The chief believes resident demand for more police service is a compliment to his staff.
“It’s through the efforts of the guys that are working here now that’s made this possible,” he said of the discussions on adding an officer. “I’ve got a good group of guys.”
Kelley noted that his department is the only one in Knox County not to have used a Taser.
“My guys have the gift of gab,” he said, knowing “how to talk to people in a way that doesn’t [tick] them off.”
The town undergoes budget discussions in earnest in the coming weeks.
I think there could be other alternatives done to fix a speeding problem, one that doesn’t exactly require an expense starting at $50k a year and will only increase as time goes on. There is this new, cutting edge technology called cameras. This crazy technology has even been used to catch people rolling through stop signs and speeding. There is always an alternative to spending money for the sake of spending it.
It’s what all towns and cities need to get a hold on some of the crimes…
Rather then go to the expense of adding an additional office the Towns of Rockport and Camden might once again want to consider combining their police departments. Given the current economic climate it would make fair more sense than simply adding additional people to the Rockport department. Both Towns would get far better coverage and more bang for their bucks.
“The chief believes resident demand for more police service is a compliment to his staff. “It’s through the efforts of the guys that are working here now that’s made this possible,” he said of the discussions on adding an officer. “I’ve got a good group of guys.” So is the Chief saying that his officers are responsible for the speeding problem in his community?
“Kelley noted that his department is the only one in Knox County not to have used a Taser. “My guys have the gift of gab,” he said, knowing “how to talk to people in a way that doesn’t [tick] them off.” I am not sure what not having tasers has to do with adding additional officers. I am sure however that departments that do have taser don’t appreciate Chief Kelley’s idea that their officers have to utilize them because they “TICK” people off.
Their so-called gift to grab is probably why the town has a speeding problem. The officers probably spend more time gabbing and giving speeders warnings than writing tickets so the don’t tic them off.
they seem to have more $ than brains in this town.
kinda makes sense to me, to have anohter officer on duty.. it will cut overtime which is time and a half pay.. and will reduce the stress on other officers reducing risk of lawsuit to the town… as well as provide coverage for areas that are lacking..speed traps, regular patrols, and response to critical incidents… remember youre not just talking about chasing after speeders here.. you’re talking about protecting the community as a whole from an wrongdoings…. and especially with this economic collapse, violence, thefts, and convictions are on the rise..
A new age response to law enforcement. Trying to go back to policing for the community, especially in this day of educatged police officers, would help.
I’m finding your comment two sided… which is it?
As a resident of Rockport, I would like to have the chance to vote at the polls whether we add another police officer.
Personally, I have been an advocate for fewer police officers in our town, or doing away with the department altogether. The officers really are a great people, but economically, I think Rockport should be looking at ways to reduce taxes, not add to the burden. Not everybody in this town are rich and quite a few are struggling, just like people in every town in Maine. Times are tough and it’s time to tighten belts, even in Rockport.
Also, the chief working two mornings per week is just terrible, he didn’t work when he was a police officer, why start him now.
Yeah right Kelly. How about those out there doing their jobs for a change, that would be nice and would save money.
If you look at ~any~ list of the best and safest communities to live and raise a family in the United States of America, there is one constant variable in common: the communities have plentiful,aggressive police departments, and the residents like it that way.
If speeding is the main reason for requesting additional police coverage, why not request more coverage on our outlying areas from Knox County whom we already pay dearly for.
Rockport here. . I commend the Rockport Police for the service they do. I have a scanner and hear some of the manure they have to deal with.There are ways to cut the towns spending without raising the tax on home owners. I pay enough now. What my home is valued at by the town is some fantasy(to drive up the amount they get to spend) that if they want it for that amount, they can own it. I have no problems with the addition of one or even two more officers. I would want the town to cut back on other areas first like public works( oh that will agitate) and contract more of that work out( to competent contractors thus employing private derived employment vs. public*). It saves money( which would help fund the police) and is more responsible to the citizens of Rockport. I won’t even go into the money whizzed away by the school district on buildings and quality of education results.( dear lord, think of the children…spend spend spend)
There are ways to fund these positions without the automatic cry to raise taxes. Besides our great president and the Republic-boobs are going to do that for us soon.
Combine with Camden? Um..No.. I vote no. Camden is not smart enough to do away with what has to be the only stop sign on U.S. Route 1 in the country.
* Public derived employment requires John Q. Public to be on the hook for all expenses associated with each position. More private sector jobs are needed to lessen the constant draining of my wallet into the public sector.Thus allowing me to spend more and help out the economy. The exceptions to this rule I.M.O.( on a state level) are Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters and E.M.T. positions.
How about we get rid of the patrolman/admin asst who can only work 20 hours a week and replace him with a full time qualified officer. This would give us more police for the same amount of money. Its genius!!