Greenville wants more police coverage from the County

DOVER-FOXCROFT- The Piscataquis County commissioners were asked Tuesday if the county would provide more police coverage if the local police force was reduced.

Currently an effort is under way in Greenville to drastically reduce municipal spending, and one of the proposed methods is to reduce funds for the local police department.

In a letter to the commissioners, Greenville Town Manager John Simko sought some answers to take to the annual town meeting on June 2. The answers, however, were not provided Tuesday because Sheriff John Goggin was out of town.

“From our point of view right now, we can’t guarantee police coverage to take up the slack,” county chairman Eben DeWitt said after the meeting. He said he doubted the answers to Simko’s questions would be forthcoming before Greenville’s town meeting because of the timing of the questions and the fact that the board does not meet until June 3.

As requested by petitioners in Greenville, Simko asked if the town reduced its force to one eight-hour shift per day, seven days a week, would the county sheriff’s department increase its coverage to make up the difference? He also asked if the county would station a deputy in Greenville specifically to cover the lost shifts, and if so, would it come with a cost beyond the local assessment to the county.

Simko noted the proposed cuts would leave the town with enough personnel to cover only one shift per day, and that coverage would be dictated by the needs of the community.

In earlier conversations with Goggin, Simko said the sheriff indicated the county would not increase its level of service to the Greenville area, but would have one deputy patrolling from Monson north most evenings, unless called away for another matter.

Since Greenville police currently respond to calls in Beaver Cove, Simko asked if the sheriff’s department would offer any additional coverage to that community to fill the void.

If the cuts are made, Simko worries about the amount of time it would take for county personnel to respond to emergency situations or complaints. As such, the commissioners were asked to project the response time.