Camden board to consider vote on dispatch

CAMDEN – A proposal to eliminate the local police dispatching service may go before voters.

The Select Board is scheduled to discuss at its Monday meeting putting the question to voters in a referendum. But board Chairman John French said Friday if the matter is put to a vote, that may not be the last word in the debate.

A year ago, Camden Police Chief Phil Roberts reduced the 24-7 police dispatching service to just daytime hours because one dispatcher fell ill. Night calls were transferred automatically to the Knox Regional Communications Center in Rockland, operated by the county. All 911 calls have been transferred to the county dispatchers since the center went online in 2001.

At the time, Roberts said he was leery of losing even a part of the local dispatch. But in preparing his budget for 2007-2008, the chief recommended eliminating the local dispatch positions, transferring all calls to the county dispatchers, and hiring a secretary-receptionist for the police station, all of which would cut annual expenses by $107,000.

The dispatchers now employed by the town have told the board they believe the move is a mistake, and suggested the matter be put to a vote. The board may decide Monday night to schedule a referendum on the matter.

“The question was raised, so we need to answer it,” French said of the referendum idea. “It’s got to go to the voters, I guess.”

But French said town attorney Bill Kelly has suggested that such a vote would only be advisory in nature, and would not bind the town to one course or another.

By its charter, Camden uses the annual town meeting to adopt its budget, he explained, so residents attending that meeting in June would have the final say on the police budget.

“It still comes down to a vote at the town meeting,” French said.

Typically, he said, the entire police budget is voted on at the town meeting, rather than a line-by-line vote. If the budget Roberts proposed goes onto the meeting warrant and residents approve it, the dispatchers would lose their jobs.

But the article could be amended, French believes, to increase the total amount raised to cover the salaries and benefits of the dispatchers. Still, the board would then have to direct Roberts to retain the dispatchers, he believes.

French said an advisory referendum vote would probably be useful for the board.

“It would certainly tell us how to vote,” if results were overwhelmingly in support of keeping the dispatchers, or strongly opposed to the additional spending, he said.

The board meets at 7 p.m. Monday, March 19, in the Washington Street conference room in the town office.