By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — U.S. Senators Snowe and Collins may have praised the announcement in early October that the Limestone Police Department was awarded $181,380 through a grant aimed to help the department strengthen its policing capacity, but the grant did not have friends in Selectpeople Gary O’Neal and Tom Devoe during the last Selectpeople meeting on Nov. 16.
Commonly referred to as the COPS grant (the U.S Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program), the funds are specifically designated for departments to hire or rehire career law enforcement officers for 36 months; the grant comes with the stipulation that the municipality, in this case Limestone, keep the grant-hired officer employed by the department for another year — Limestone Police Officer John Deveau informed the selectpeople that the estimated cost of employing that individual for that fourth year would be approximately be $70,336. That cost does not reflect an approximate $10,000 expense of seeing an officer through the police academy.
By accepting the grant, the town would theoretically pay $80,000 for an additional officer for four years; the cost is theoretical because, as Officer Deveau explained to the selectpeople, the Loring Development Authority has agreed to furnish half the bill for the grant-hired officer during that fourth-year. Officer Deveau also explained that he’s currently seeking alternative means of funding for the fourth year, as to decrease the financial commitment for the town.
Selectpeople Devoe and O’Neal voted against the board’s decision to “accept the COPS grant pending a warrant article approval by the citizens of Limestone in their annual town meeting with absolutely no action in the hiring process by the PD until after the town meeting and no position filled prior to July 1, 2012.” Selectpeople Fred Pelletier, Jimmy Pelletier and Danny Gahagan, Sr. voted in favor of the motion.
While discussing the grant, Selectperson Devoe stated that he would have said “no” if he’d been told the police department intended to apply for a COPS grant and O’Neal stated that he wouldn’t vote for the grant because he doesn’t think the town needs it.
Officer Deveau offered the statement that LPD’s crime stats have doubled from 2009 to 2010 in every category but murder and remarked that, “If you don’t think we need [this grant], you’re joking.”
“The only thing I’m going to say to that is that we’ve listened, that there’s no crime in Limestone, and since you’ve brought this [grant] up there’s all kinds of crime in Limestone,” O’Neal said.
Deveau offered to start posting every crime in the paper.
“If you would like, I will post everything in the paper for crime in Limestone. The reason we do not do that is how does that look when we post something negative in the paper? Would you like me to post the fact that there was a woman at Job Corps who had four men sexually assault her? And I went to Massachusetts last week to interview her. Would you like me to post that?” Officer Deveau asked O’Neal.
O’Neal commented that he didn’t want Deveau to post anything, and accused him of not listening.
O’Neal then explained to Deveau what he’s been hearing from the townspeople that “it’s almost at the point where the police department thinks they’re a quasi-municipal department, that they don’t answer to the Town of Limestone anymore,” O’Neal said. “I’m getting that impression and if you listen on the street, that’s what they’re saying,” he added, reminding Officer Deveau that he works for the Town of Limestone.
One reason O’Neal cited as example for LPD’s quasi-municipal behavior was the manor in which the COPS grant was received; instead of the informative packet coming to the town manager, it was received by Officer Deveau (who wrote the grant).
“This is the first grant — and I was the town manager for a while — I’ve never seen a grant not go through the town manager before,” O’Neal said. “Never.”
When Selectperson Chair Fred Pelletier clarified that the Limestone Fire Chief applies for grants for equipment without going through the town manager, O’Neal explained that those grants are different than the COPS grant.
“This is money that the town is going to have to pay for; it’s going to be a tax burden in four years,” O’Neal explained. “That’s the point I’m trying to make in this grant.”
While O’Neal and Officer Deveau clearly disagreed about the COPS grant, their dialogue was productive and points were clearly expressed.
Selectperson Devoe was clearly as opposed to the grant as O’Neal, though he expressed his opposition in an argumentative manner.
Shortly after the selectpeople began discussing the COPS, Devoe questioned the proposed funding of the grant-based officer’s position.
As Officer Deveau began explaining the various avenues of funding the department is currently pursuing, Selectperson Devoe interjected.
“You start, John, and you can leave the room because I don’t need this tonight,” he said, pointing at Officer Deveau and questioning where the department would replace an officer that the town had previously let go.
Officer Deveau mentioned how the department formerly had an officer designated to Loring.
The conversation then touched on how things have changed in the past 20 years.
“Twenty years ago we didn’t have all this crap — we didn’t have 14 million vehicles sitting out front. We had one car,” Selectperson Devoe emphasized.
Officer Deveau referenced the department’s three police cars, and Selectperson Devoe proceeded to describe additional vehicles — like a snow sled, and a dirt bike.
Eventually, selectperson Gahagan interjected, saying “If you want to have a blow-out session about the PD, let’s bring in [Limestone Police Chief Stacey Mahan] so we can have an executive session.”
As explained by Town Manager Donna Bernier, Fred Pelletier and Officer Deveau, the reason Chief Mahan was not present was because, as Officer Deveau had written the grant, he is the most knowledgable on the topic and the best suited to explain the grant to the selectpeople.
While discussion regarding the COPS grant is certain to be abundant at Limestone’s Annual Town Meeting, slated for the second Wednesday of June in 2012, the board did approve the grant pending town approval.
The next meeting of the Limestone Selectpeople is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Limestone Municipal Building.
