Swans Island gets new acting chief of police

SWANS ISLAND — It’s a changing of the guard at the Swans Island Police Department.

Police Chief Michael Sellars has left his island post for a position in Jonesport, and Jerry Michaud, now a dispatcher at the Mount Desert Police Department, is serving as the part-time, acting police chief. Sellars worked for the town as a police chief for just over a year.

Before deciding whether to continue funding the full-time police position, which costs the town about $23,000 for a salary plus housing, selectmen plan to consult with voters at the annual town meeting.

The cost of law enforcement on the island may be on the rise, according to selectman Dexter Lee. The town is at the end of a three-year federal grant program which offered the town about $53,000 a year for the past two years. Voters at last year’s town meeting returned a $15,000 anonymous donation for law enforcement, when the donor’s identity became common knowledge. Residents said they thought the donor may come to expect favors in return for the gift.

The town of Swans Island started its own police department about three years ago, after arrangements with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department did not work out largely because of logistics surrounding commuting to the island.

Michaud is signed on for up to 30-hour work weeks, said Lee.