HOULTON, Maine — A maintenance proposal from Houlton Police Chief Tim DeLuca and Public Works Director Chris Stewart that would see the two departments work collaboratively received consensus approval from the Houlton Town Council Monday, March 13.
As presented at a Feb. 21 town council meeting, by having the town’s Public Works mechanics do minor repairs, the town could avoid paying higher labor rates on most routine maintenance matters.
According to Police Chief DeLuca, by having the Public Works mechanics do the repairs, the town could save about $26 an hour on oil changes, brake repairs and other minor jobs. The average local rate is closer to $60 an hour, DeLuca added.
The town mechanics would complete the work on Fridays and Saturdays, according to Stewart, and the employees would receive overtime pay. Even by paying overtime wages, the town will see a significant savings. During busy times, like when the crew is out plowing for a winter storm, the police department would not ask mechanics to do repair work, Stewart said.
“If we only can use them once every third time, it is still a savings,” DeLuca said. “Sometimes we may have to outsource the work, but if Public Works is available we could pick away at our budget [savings].”
Stewart said in addition to saving money on the hourly rate, they would also be able to provide discounts on parts for the jobs.
At a previous council meeting, councilors asked the police chief to see if any local mechanics would offer a discounted rate to do repair work on the police fleet. Chief DeLuca said he spoke to seven local garages, asking if they would offer a reduced rate, but all of them stated the hourly rates they charge for repair work would remain unchanged.
“The businesses were not interested in whether we had a fleet of vehicles or not,” DeLuca said.
While the town may need to outsource some more technical repairs, he said the Public Works crew could complete many general repairs. The goal is to use this savings to help make up for the roughly $5,800 deficit in equipment/parts in their 2016 police budget.
Councilor Brent Dickinson said the Public Works Department performed this type of service routinely in years past.
The board agreed to let the two departments try the cooperative arrangement, but did not take a formal vote on the matter.
“This only makes sense for us to try,” said Councilor Rosa McNally. “It’s progressive, and it makes sense.”
