PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Presque Isle City Council approved the city’s 2020 budget on Wednesday after finalizing the role a deputy chief would play on the police force.
After a series of adjustments made by City Manager Martin Puckett and the council — though appropriations will not be identical — net spending for the 2020 budget will be about the same as last year’s budget.
Wednesday’s city council meeting was not nearly as contentious as a budget meeting held a few weeks ago, during which councilors, especially Chairman of the City Council Mike Chasse, sparred with department heads over funding.
Yet, there was considerable discussion from councilors regarding how the new budget would handle the deputy chief position they had approved in their last meeting.
Debate regarded the role of the deputy-chief position in relation to empty patrol officer slots on the Presque Isle Police Department. There are currently five unfilled patrol positions on the force. If the department doesn’t fill any spots by July, there will be six vacancies, as one officer is planning on leaving, said Presque Isle Police Chief Laurie Kelly.
Councilman Craig Green proposed that the council replace one of the patrol positions with a deputy chief position who would perform additional patrolling duties.
“We’d still maintain the same number of police officers on the street,” Green said.
However, a few councilors, including Jeffery Willette and Jacob Shaw, questioned whether a dual deputy chief/patrol position would be practical.
“It would just be difficult for them to perform as deputy chief to their fullest,” Shaw said.
Kelly said that while the request was “feasible,” patrolling was not traditionally the job of deputy chief.
“Typically, they are a Monday-through-Friday day shift,” Kelly said. “You’d have to alter the contract.”
Mike Chasse, council chairman, who has been outspoken in his support for a deputy chief position, supported Green’s proposal, reiterating his belief that the new position would ensure a natural successor to Kelly.
