SABATTUS — For the second time in four years, residents voted to keep their Police Department intact.

But the vote was a lot closer this time than it was in 2021.

Through a secret ballot Monday night, 83 residents voted to stick with the local police force while 73 voted in favor of turning police matters over to the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department.

That slim vote tally was in stark difference to the vote cast in 2021 when a full 80%  voted in favor of keeping the Sabattus Police Department.

The Monday night vote was so contentious that many of the 200 residents in attendance pushed for a secret ballot in place of the orange-blazed paint stirrers typically used to cast votes — nobody wanted to be seen voting against the local police force, which many believed might draw the ire of their neighbors.

One-by-one, town residents made their way to the front of the auditorium at Oak Hill Middle School to jot their votes down on bright yellow slips of paper, which were counted by hand.

Though only 10 votes separated the ayes from the nays, the matter of whether to keep or disband the police force was finally put to rest. And soon after the matter was settled, residents voted overwhelmingly to approve $793,943 to fund the department; an amount that allows for six officers, with raises factored in.

The matter of how much it would cost to keep the local department had been debated at length before the secret ballot votes were cast.

The original meeting warrant called for the approval of nearly $825,000 to pay for an eight-man department. The Budget Committee, however, had recommended that $793,943 be approved to fund the slightly smaller department and ultimately, the townsfolk agreed.

The proposal to negotiate with the sheriff’s office called for $590,148, although it was generally agreed that that number was tentative and subject to change.

The meeting grew feisty at times as the matter of the police coverage was addressed. Many felt that the proposal to switch to county sheriff coverage was too hastily put together. And they felt that it was never clear enough how much money would be requested to keep the local department funded.

“Why are they giving us apples to oranges here?” demanded Sabattus resident William Redmun. “Give us apples to apples. Don’t fluff up the numbers here and there and complicate it.”

In addition to the issue of dollars and cents, there were many who made emotional appeals to keep the Sabattus police force intact. Although Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson had assured townspeople that his deputies would maintain a full-time presence in Sabattus, many felt that this kind of coverage would be lacking.

There is something vital, some said, about having police officers in town who are familiar with the local people and their particular problems.

“I know two of the Sabattus police officers personally,” Redmun said. “When they pull up to an incident, they call people by name. They know the families who live here. They know where the party spots are. They know every nook and cranny of this town.”

Wayne Heyward, who is on the budget and planning committees, agreed with others who felt the plan to switch to county coverage was put forth with too much uncertainty around it.

“I think the proposal came up too hastily,” he said. “If it hadn’t come up the way it did, I might have felt differently. Even though it does cost more, I think it’s worth it to keep our Police Department.”

Sheriff Samson, who answered several questions from the voters, had remained agnostic about the matter of whether Sabattus should abandon its police force. He was only there to answer questions, he said, and not to try to convince people one way or the other.

In the end, though, he seemed relieved that the town opted not to go with county coverage. The proposal to do so, he said, had not been fleshed out enough before it was put to the voters.

“I think it would have been horrible if they’d flicked the switch tonight,” Samson said.

Now that the town has opted to stick with its police force, it has to next hire a chief because since late last year the town has been without one after Erik Baker quit in December as police chief and interim town manager.

In attendance at the meeting Monday night was David Kurz, who has been serving as chief temporarily since the start of the year. For the same reason put forth by others, he also recommended that the town stick with its local force “and get through this rough patch.”

A new chief may be coming soon, according to many associated with the town. It was said that a candidate had been found and the town plans to make an offer. They just needed to see how the vote was going to go Monday night.

For local public safety agencies in Sabattus, it was a good night.

In addition to voting to fund police, the town also voted to continue funding four full-time firefighters, and they approved $543,250 for the department with little discussion or disagreement.

Earlier in the day, Sabattus fire Chief H. Adam Thacker made an appeal on social media for voters to keep the Fire Department funded. It was, he said, a matter of safety.

“Without our full-time firefighters and our total budget, your fire department will be in a very dangerous place,” the chief wrote. “Not only are we seeing a large increase in our call volume as a whole but also a rise in the severity of the calls which in themselves require more manpower on-scene. Having these full-time firefighters is the only way we can ensure that a trained professional is ready and available to answer these calls.”