A proposed school resource officer in Wiscasset has crossed a crucial threshold toward funding. Selectmen on April 24 agreed to keep it in the budget and let voters decide.

Vice Chairman Judy Colby supported the job aimed at addressing student substance abuse and other issues.

“If (it) saves one child, I think this is worth it,” Colby said.

Selectman Tim Merry said he understands the need, but that he doesn't think voters will agree to fund the new, full-time officer.

Board members Jeff Slack and Pam Dunning questioned giving the job the 40 hours Police Chief Troy Cline has proposed. Slack wondered if existing officers could share time in the schools, or if the new slot could be part-time.

The officer would switch to patrol work in summers, and could be called out of the schools if needed at an emergency elsewhere in town, Cline has said.

Chairman Ed Polewarczyk continued to express his support for the job request.

Although selectmen plan to keep it in the budget that goes to town meeting on May 31, they and the budget committee still need to decide what they will recommend voters do on that and all other items. The two panels will continue budget talks on Thursday, May 1, in the municipal building's meeting room. The workshop is set for 6 p.m.

In an April 25 email response to the Wiscasset Newspaper’s request for comment, Cline said he would have been surprised had the board not supported the resource officer’s position, because it has the support of most residents he speaks to.

“The issues at the high school are not going to go away on their own,” Cline writes. “...(S)chools, parents and law enforcement, must (partner) to utilize every strategy possible to impact these problems in a cooperative and mutually beneficial manner. I look forward to the continued support of the citizens of Wiscasset to make this recommended position a reality.

“It will not only benefit the school, students and staff but will benefit the community as a whole,” the chief writes.

The officer's job was among payroll requests the selectmen reviewed across town departments. Another add-on that survived the workshop was five more hours for an administrative secretary at the town office.

The board rejected adding five maintenance hours at the town office.

But what may have been the surprise of the night came when selectmen got into the number of hours for the director of the Wiscasset Ambulance Service. Some board members questioned whether it and two other duties that come with the job, health officer and emergency management, are enough to keep the position full-time.

“Coming from people in town talking to me, they don't feel it's a 40-hour position,” Slack said.

“I think it could be done in a lot less time,” Merry said. Other personnel handle some parts of the workload, he said.

The board asked Interim Town Manager Don Gerrish to research how the job's hours are broken down, namely, about how much time goes into each of the three roles.

No one questioned the hours when the man in the job, Wiscasset Ambulance Director Roland Abbott, presented his budget proposal to selectmen and the budget committee on April 19. No department heads attended Thursday's workshop.

Selectmen also briefly discussed Merry's idea to save on part-time pay by consolidating the transfer station and public works department. No savings were estimated, but selectmen said some work could possibly be shared: When the transfer station closes for a snowstorm, its staff could help with plowing.

Both departments have union workers, so the time to raise that subject would be during contract talks, Gerrish said. The current deal runs out in June 2015, he said.