CAMDEN, Maine — The Select Board is expected to discuss the future of policing in the community and the cost thereof at its meeting 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the French conference room at the Town Office.
In a memo attached to the agenda for the meeting, Town Manager Audra Caler recommends the following:
— Maintain the current police service delivery model for fiscal year 27, and do not place a change in service delivery before voters at the June town meeting.
— Continue a structured, transparent, and public discussion regarding future police service delivery options outside the pressure of the FY27 budget cycle.
— Initiate a search for a police chief to provide stable leadership for the department, support staff and ensure continuity of operations while the broader policy discussion proceeds.
This recommendation comes as a group of business and community leaders mobilize to gather signatures to put a question on the June ballot aimed at maintaining the police department as it is.
Longtime Police Chief Randy Gagne announced his retirement to take on a patrol job in Rockland on Jan. 23.
In the wake of his departure, Rockport and Camden have ended their agreement to share a police chief. Rockport has appointed Chris Young interim chief for that town. The Camden Select Board voted 3-2 to have the Knox County Sheriff’s Office run its police department in the interim.
“While both a fully local police department model and a County-based service model were intentionally presented during the FY27 budget discussion, I am recommending that no change in police service delivery be advanced to voters this year and that the Town maintain the current model for FY27 (Department Head’s budget), while continuing this important conversation in a more deliberate manner,” the March 2 memo from the town manager’s office states. “I am also recommending that the Town begin a search for a police chief to provide stability and leadership during this period.”
The town manager added, “As discussion has progressed, it has become clear that evaluating a fundamental change in how law enforcement services are delivered, while simultaneously navigating the broader FY27 budget, represents too much change in too short a period for the community to meaningfully absorb and discuss prior to the June Town Meeting.”
The memo outlines the current police department services with five patrol officers working 10-hour shifts supervised by patrol sergeants, a detective sergeant and lieutenant.
Under the sheriff’s office option, Caler said six deputies would be assigned to cover Camden supervised by the sheriff’s existing command structure, and it would take advantage of the high amount the town pays in county taxes.
“As of FY26, Camden’s total assessment to Knox County is approximately $2.4 million, with roughly $1.8 million supporting the Sheriff’s Department. At present, many of the services funded through this assessment are not directly utilized by the town. A dedicated services agreement could better align Camden’s existing County contribution with actual service delivery, while reducing duplication of administration, insurance exposure, and fleet replacement obligations. It also eliminates the need for the inevitable major Public Safety Building renovation.”
The proposed budget for the status quo police department is more than $1.8 million with additional costs for future facility upgrades, workers’ compensation, vehicles and body cameras.
The memo also leaves the door open to continuing to consider alternatives while her recommendation is to maintain the status quo for now.
Meanwhile, residents concerned about potentially losing local control of the police department are gathering signatures, preparing to attend meetings on the topic including regular Select Board meetings and the town’s scheduled public meeting on the police department budget at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Camden Opera House, which will be streamed live on the Camden YouTube channel.
Some are also showing their support for the police department by posting signs in local business windows showing a thin blue line.
Representatives of Camden’s police union, the Camden Police Benevolent Association, have been firm in their desire to maintain a town department. “We feel that if the town is intending to abolish the Camden PD and contract out its police services with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, as is done in some towns, that it would lead to a less safe environment for the citizens.”
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.