BANGOR, Maine — Elected officials from Bangor and Brewer on Wednesday urged area lawmakers to help deal with problems plaguing the region during the coming legislative session.
City councilors and staff from the two cities sat down with their state senators and representatives at the Cross Insurance Center to talk about challenges facing the region in 2016.
Tackling the regional drug problem and finding solutions to jail overcrowding and funding shortages were on top of the list of priorities.
Bangor City Council Chairman Sean Faircloth said Thursday that there was widespread support of a $4.8 million spending plan to combat drug distribution and addiction in the state. That proposal includes funding for a 10-bed social detox facility to be located in Greater Bangor.
Brewer Mayor Bev Uhlenhake said the group also wanted to ensure that lawmakers found ways to provide adequate funding and support for the state’s jails. Penobscot County Jail has been struggling with overcrowding for years, and it recently had to reach out to jails in other counties for help.
The council members also expressed their opposition to a proposal to allow a new casino in Southern Maine, and they criticized organizers of the plan after accusations arose of misleading tactics being used to gather signatures. Such a development would likely harm Maine’s two existing casinos, one of which is in Bangor, by stretching the market for the fledgling industry too thin, they argued.
Faircloth said he would work closely with officials across the river, including Uhlenhake, to promote solutions to the region’s challenges and find opportunities to boost the local economies.
“I think the biggest takeaway from last night is that our elected officials are incredibly concerned about substance abuse and will continue to work hard together to make a difference,” Uhlenhake said.
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