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SABATTUS — Public safety and roadwork will be on the agenda Monday, June 9, as voters gather for the annual town meeting.

The biggest decision is whether to disband the Police Department in favor of contracting with the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office.

Voters will be asked if they want to spend $590,000 to pay for law enforcement services from the county.

The next article on the warrant is whether to disband its department.

For some, the discussion will be a familiar one. In the fall of 2021, a special town meeting was called to decide whether the department would continue to have the Sheriff’s Office take over. Roughly 80% of voters opted to keep the local force.

If voters choose to stick with their department, they will be asked to approve $824,845 to fund it. The department has been without a chief since late 2024 when Erik Baker quit as head of the force and as town manager.

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The Board of Selectmen has been interviewing candidates for both positions but it’s likely it will still be without both come June 9.

At the meeting, voters will also be asked whether to approve funding to hire four full-time firefighters for the Fire Department. The Budget Committee and selectmen have advised voters to approve $543,250 to fund the department.

And voters will also decide whether to authorize the town to borrow up to $2 million to pay for construction and improvements to town roads.

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. at Sabattus Primary School, 36 No Name Pond Road.

Mark LaFlamme is a Sun Journal reporter and weekly columnist. He's been on the nighttime police beat since 1994, which is just grand because he doesn't like getting out of bed before noon. Mark is the...

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