Lincoln County commissioners authorized buying previously budgeted items and approved several personnel changes April 6. Commissioners approved buying a 2020 Dodge Durango SUV cruiser for $27,842 from Newcastle Chrysler. Other authorized sheriff department purchases included $5,611.97 for Ford Police Interceptor Hybrid SUV equipment and $4,906.74 for a Dodge Charger cruiser. Coastal Electronics will install the equipment in both cruisers.

Sheriff Todd Brackett also requested commissioners accept the following departmental staff changes. Commissioners accepted first-year Deputy Caleb Fortin’s resignation and Deputy Brian Collamore’s retirement. Collamore worked for the department for nearly 23 years. Brackett reported Collamore will likely begin a new career working for Lincoln Academy’s grounds crew. Commissioners also approved changing Deputy Jerold Winslow’s status from part- to full-time. Winslow recently finished college and is now available for full-time duty.  “This was the plan all along,” Brackett said. “We hired him as a part-timer thinking we’d make him full-time after graduation,”

The department also received approval to charge more for  detail coverage. Commissioners approved rate hikes for the following sheriff’s department special coverages: $75 per hour for a deputy, $65 per hour for a communications officer, $15 per hour for a county vehicle, $85 per hour for a communications mobile unit command vehicle, and a $100 per hour emergent administrative fee for less than 48-hour notice prior to a request. The new rates began March 28.

Lincoln County Communications had purchase requests and personnel changes approved. Commissioners promoted Tara Doe to communication supervisor and approved Brendan Parker’s resignation. Parker worked for the communications center for 2.5 years. His final full-time day is April 20. Parker accepted a job with Maine Department of Public Safety in Augusta. County Communication Director Tom Nelson reported Parker would continue as an on-call part-time employee. Commissioners authorized buying a Zetron Service Plan for $8,750 for a dispatch console panel. Nelson also reported two department employees had completed 14-day quarantine periods due to the coronavirus. The communications center is also using other health safety procedures. “We’re taking temps and monitoring people when they walk into the center. If someone appears ill, we send them home,” he said.

Commissioners held an executive session to discuss a personnel issue and, after reconvening, they terminated Lincoln County Recycling Center mechanic and truck driver Robert Gryspeerd. County Administrator Carrie Kipfer will first post the vacancy internally within county government for a replacement.

In other action, commissioners approved using $10,000 from the commissioners’ contingency fund to use for a county food resource group. Lincoln County Regional Planning Office’s Mary Ellen Barnes is leading the group which will provide food resources county-wide during an emergency. Kipfer told commissioners the $10,000 was proposed as a starting point and she may request more if the pandemic worsens. 

Two county policies were updated. Commissioners approved changes for the  Emergency Medical Leave Act and Emergency Paid Sick Leave policies in response to the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act Law changes. Cash flow isn’t an immediate concern for the county, but commissioners took action in preparation for a potential economic downturn. Commissioners are soliciting bids for a possible 2020 tax anticipation note.

Commissioners met remotely through a conference call. They meet next at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 21.