Milo approves measure for police funding

MILO – The Milo Police Department has been granted the funds needed to fill its budget gap and finish out the year intact, according to Selectman Jerry Brown.

A motion was passed at Tuesday night’s special town meeting approving $30,000 to finance the department for the remainder of the year, he said Wednesday. The money will come from the town’s general fund.

“The only real thing that the public demanded is that the board advise and supervise the use of the money for the rest of the year,” Brown said Wednesday.

The shortfall stemmed from a lengthy drug investigation that ate up about $15,000 of the department’s budget, according to previous Bangor Daily News reports. That investigation provided leads to several agencies and ultimately ended in several arrests.

Three funding options were presented at Tuesday’s meeting, including full funding as requested by the Police Department, the reduction of coverage from 24 hours to 16 hours, or no additional funding.

One officer would have be laid off under the third option and a second officer would be laid off for 30 days.