PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The city of Presque Isle’s 2021 budget removed the deputy chief job from the Presque Isle Police Department, eliminating a leadership position the council had pushed in 2019, but did not fill in 2020.
City Manager Martin Puckett said the decision was made so the city could focus on filling other positions on the squad. He also said Presque Isle Police Chief Laurie Kelly supported the change. The measure removed about $95,000 from the budget — $70,000 in salary and $25,000 in benefits allocated for the deputy chief position.
The Presque Isle Police Department has long had issues with retaining officers, though it has had success in filling vacancies this year. In a memo included in the 2021 budget, a Presque Isle Police official said that there will be three patrol officer openings in the department in January 2021.
Last year’s budget meeting featured extensive debate about the deputy chief position amid five patrol vacancies on the force. Councilor Craig Green had proposed a deputy chief position that would be in department leadership while taking on some patrolling duties.
Michael Chasse — at the time council chairman — heavily pushed Green’s proposal, suggesting that the deputy chief position would provide a natural successor to Kelly’s leadership.
At that time, some councilors questioned whether the role would be practical, with Councilor Jake Shaw questioning whether a deputy chief would be able to fulfill their leadership role while patrolling. Kelly noted that deputy chiefs in other police departments nationwide typically did not patrol.
Puckett said the council made the decision during one of several budget workshop meetings it held apart from regular council meetings. Thus, the deputy chief was not mentioned when the council unanimously approved the new budget in a meeting on Dec. 2.
The 2021 budget features $14.3 million in total appropriations, about $6,600 less than the 2020 budget.
The mill rate — the amount of money paid for every $1,000 of property value — will lower in 2021 from 24.95 to 24.94. Though it is only a slight decrease, Presque Isle taxpayers will pay $6,600 less next year — the same amount the budget has decreased since 2020.
Public works was the department with the highest expenditures, with the city spending $2.7 million on its operations. The fire department ($2.5 million), police department ($2.1 million) and recreation and parks department ($2 million) also received hefty shares — collectively, the four departments made up two-thirds of all city expenditures.
As is usually the case in city budgets, a good chunk of all funds ($7.4 million) were allocated for employee wages and benefits, about a $29,000 increase since last year’s budget.
The council gave about $54,000 in outside requests for funding, including $20,000 to the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce, $16,000 to Wintergreen Arts, $6,400 to the Quoggy Jo Ski Club and $5,500 to the Aroostook Agency on Aging.
