Police make do with used cruiser
Troy Cline meets with selectmen June 6. Below: 3-year-old Dezirae Colby and her grandmother, Selectman Judy Colby, share a moment at the board table. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
3-year-old Dezirae Colby and her grandmother, Selectman Judy Colby, share a moment at the board table. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
Troy Cline meets with selectmen June 6. Below: 3-year-old Dezirae Colby and her grandmother, Selectman Judy Colby, share a moment at the board table. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
3-year-old Dezirae Colby and her grandmother, Selectman Judy Colby, share a moment at the board table. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
The squeeze in Wiscasset's police cruiser fleet has been relieved, for now. Selectmen June 6 approved the purchase of a used cruiser with less mileage than the one of the same make, year and model that was totaled in an accident May 21.
The 2008 Ford Crown Victoria and minor changes to it will all fit within the $9,250 insurance payout for the totaled cruiser, Police Chief Troy Cline said.
The upcoming purchase will keep the money local. Mike Smith's Coastal Electronics on Gardiner Road is selling the town the car.
The board's decision means there will be no June 18 special town meeting that would have sought as much as $19,000 in taxes to put toward a new cruiser.
“This is a band-aid to the problem. It's not a permanent fix,” Cline told selectmen. “But it will work for us, for the betterment of the town.”
He will wait until next year to ask for a new vehicle, he said. The town could then either find a reuse for the one bought this year or sell it to help pay for the new one, the chief said.
He favored getting the used vehicle to help the town during its current tight financial situation, he said. “... I thought I could alleviate that and save the town some heartache and some trouble.”
Selectmen praised Cline's solution to the problem of having one cruiser for the department. “I think it's fantastic,” board member Judy Colby said.
“I appreciate that you've gone outside the box,” Chairman Pam Dunning said. “Most people in town are not fans of the last-minute town meeting.”
Later in the discussion, Colby commented that the incoming used cruiser might be able to stay in service two years.
“It's probably not going to happen, but OK,” Cline said, to laughter around the meeting room.
The 2008 cruiser the town is getting has about 90,000 miles on it; the totaled one had about 125,000 miles, Cline said.
Returning to a two-cruiser fleet will meet the department's needs and avoid a sharp mileage increase on the other cruiser, a 2013 Dodge Charger, Cline said.
Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com
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