The sheriff of Lincoln County hopes to get enough funding for two police cruiser video cameras, but will have to rework his budget with commissioners before a final meeting with advisory council members early next month. 

The Lincoln County Budget Advisory Committee is nearing the end of its portion of the county budget process before they make their recommendation to commissioners. They decided Sheriff Todd Brackett should revisit his department's budget with commissioners a second time Thursday night, October 25, which was planned to be the committee's final meeting.

Following his budget presentation to committee members Brackett showed a video that advertised the merits of a high definition, dual-headed digital video camera system he hopes to purchase for two department cruisers. “There are a lot of advantages to this video system,” he said. “But it comes with a cost.”

Each camera, designed to shoot in front and rear of a vehicle, costs approximately $5,000. The in-car video system would be linked to a server at the sheriff's department, where 12-hour footage can be stored for archiving. 

State Rep. Les Fossel (R-Alna) said he would not vote in favor of the sheriff's department budget until the sheriff and commissioners went through the budget line by line. 

Westport Island committee member George Richardson recommended commissioners review the sheriff's department budget, after Fossel said there are areas that could be reduced. Fossel referenced line items in the sheriff's department budget where less than half of budgeted funds were spent. For example, “maintenance” was budgeted $1,500 and just over $393 had been spent. The 2013 requested amount for maintenance was $2,000.

“If these items can go down, then the overall budget can stay more within balance,” he said. “And maybe some more of those cameras you're talking about we can buy.”

There were also some areas of the sheriff's department budget that exceeded their allocated amounts, such as “advertising.” 

“I think I understand,” Brackett said in response to Fossel's concerns. “I've been more concerned about the bottom line at the end of the year than I have been the individual lines, especially knowing where some of those I can't control.”

The total requested budget from the sheriff's department for 2013 is currently $1,954,410, which could change after the meeting with commissioners. Last year, the sheriff's department was budgeted $1,891,070 and as of October 25 $1,415,967 has been spent. The sheriff's department has the largest budget out of all other departments in the county's government.

Other department budgets, from Registry of Probate to Lincoln County Recycling, were accepted by the committee. Committee members accepted an increase in funds paid to the District Attorney's office to account for additional paralegal services. 

District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau said a grant worth approximately $36,000 funded a “prosecutorial assistant” through the Damariscotta Police Department. 

The grant was managed through Youth Promise, Rushlau said, and those funds are no longer available. He said funding this position is important, since functions previously handled by the state have been transferred to counties and the employee provides a valuable service to his office. 

Similar positions in other counties pay more, about $42,000 in Waldo and over $50,000 in Knox, Rushlau said. He requested what he thought was a realistic figure for what the county would have to pay to get someone with the right credentials. 

“They need to be knowledgeable about the law,” he said. “I think it's also helpful to have experience in the criminal justice system so they know what to ask for from officers, know what's missing from the case file and can ask intelligent questions.”

The 2013 budget for the District Attorney's office is $164,976, which is an increase over last year's budget of $127,101.

Committee members will meet for another work session to follow up on the sheriff's department budget and other remaining items November 8 at the Lincoln County courthouse.