A large group of residents led by businessmen Erick Anderson and Stuart Smith delivered petition documents with 547 signatures to the Town Office on Wednesday afternoon, March 18, seeking to keep a town-run police department and police chief for Camden.
While Camden has begun actively advertising for a new police chief, organizers of the petition effort said they are still worried about the future of the town’s independent police force, so they do not believe their job is over.
The documents were accepted by Tax Collector Jimi Hunt at the front desk.
Smith thanked those present for their efforts gathering the signatures, prompting applause from the group.
He said he hopes the petition will be placed on the agenda for an upcoming Select Board meeting.
The petition asks the town “to take the necessary steps to ensure that Camden employs a full-time chief of police to manage its police department,” arguing that “the Town of Camden is best served by a dedicated, full-time chief of police accountable directly to the town and its residents.”
The petition requests an article for the June town meeting “to see if the Town will vote to direct the Select Board to employ a town-operated police department and a full-time chief of police to manage the Camden Police Department, and not to contract with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department or any outside agency for the management of police services.”
The effort started about three weeks ago with petitions available at locations in town, including the Lord Camden Inn and Stop ‘n’ Go.
Anderson said it was amazing to see the number of individual signature collectors turning in multiple pages.
The future of the Camden Police Department came into question after longtime Chief Randy Gagne left as both the Camden and Rockport chief to take a new job with the Rockland Police Department. In response, a split Select Board voted to contract with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office to provide administrative leadership until June, prompting concerns that the town could take a regional approach using county services rather than continuing with its own department.
Town Manager Audra Caler has recommended keeping the status quo with the Police Department in the municipal budget currently being worked out for the coming year, but town leaders have not closed the door on the possibility of exploring other regional options in the future.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.
