Sheriffâs deputy services quote sought
GOULDSBORO â Selectmen are seeking an estimated cost of contracting two full-time Hancock County Sheriffâs Office deputies. Their motive, they say, is to compare the quoted amount with how much the town currently spends to provide law enforcement protection and services. They stress no move is afoot to either reduce or restructure the current Gouldsboro Police Department.
At their regularly meeting April 29, selectmen voted 4-0 to direct Town Manager Andrea Sirois to request the Hancock County Sheriffâs Office to âgive us a quote for police service [totaling] two, 40-hour shiftsâ by deputies. In a follow-up telephone call April 30, Board of Selectman Chairman Dana Rice told The American that the quote was sought strictly to gauge law enforcement coverage costs elsewhere in Hancock County. Rice said it was not the first time Gouldsboro had requested such an estimate from the sheriffâs department.
Gouldsboro police chief and officer back on patrol
GOULDSBORO Gouldsboro Police Chief John Shively and Officer Adam Brackett late this week were back performing their jobs following several weeks in which the Board of Selectmen dealt with a personnel matter.
Selectmen, however, voted to hire a mediator for the Police Department following an executive session Thursday night.
Town Manager Andrea Sirois confirmed Thursday that Shively and Brackett resumed work on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. She would not disclose what the prior personnel matter involved was, but said it was no longer an issue.
“Our police department is fully operational,” she said Friday.
Gouldsboro selectmen adopt COVID-19 protocol
GOULDSBORO Selectmen late last week instituted a COVID-19 policy entitling the town’s municipal employees to up to 80 hours of paid time off if they contract the coronavirus.
The policy also cites mask-wearing and other best practices to avoid catching or spreading the disease but does not call for any disciplinary action if that protocol is not followed on the job.
At their April 1 meeting, selectmen voted 5-0 without comment to adopt the “Pandemic Virus Policy,” which is drawn from guidance from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Gouldsboro selectmen launch town manager search
GOULDSBORO In a few small Hancock County towns, town clerks still do it all. They balance the books, collect property taxes, register voters, hold elections, license dogs and many other administrative tasks. Nowadays, though, town managers or administrative assistants focus on growing municipal issues such as health, solid waste and infrastructure and manage staff who handle day-to-day functions in more than half of the 37 communities stretching from Verona Island to Great Pond.
Gouldsboro has followed that pattern since the 2015 retirement of former Town Manager Eve Wilkinson, who served for 18 years and “did all these things for a small amount of money,” Board of Selectmen Chairman Dana Rice noted last Thursday night. Since then, the town has had three town managers and is now searching for a fourth to succeed Andrea Sirois, who was hired in June of 2020. On March 23, she informed the board of her intent not to renew her contr
Gouldsboro selectmen grapple with COVID-19 protocol
GOULDSBORO Should town employees risk losing workers’ compensation benefits if they opt not to be vaccinated and test positive for COVID-19? Must they sign waivers before traveling out of state, and self-quarantine unpaid for 10 days, if they come down with the coronavirus before their return? Should they lose their job or be suspended without pay if they fail to mask and socially distance when away from their workspace after repeated warnings?
These are possible rules, as part of a COVID-19 policy, that the Gouldsboro Board of Selectmen has wrestled with since the federal Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) expired Dec. 31, 2020. Under that law, both part-time and full-time employees catching the virus were entitled to paid emergency sick leave for two weeks and continued health insurance. They qualified for the emergency leave if ordered or advised to self-quarantine due to virus-related concerns or were experienci