Caribou police chief asks council for new lieutenant, officer and dispatchers in 2025 budget

Caribou Police Chief Justin Saucier told the Caribou City Council on Feb. 10 that his department’s 2025 budget request includes a proposal to add a lieutenant, one patrol officer and two dispatchers, and a set of capital and training items aimed at reducing overtime and improving certification and instructor capacity.

The proposal seeks to reduce a heavy overtime burden. Saucier said the department had 19 open shifts in January and filled 12, resulting in $6,630 in overtime pay for that month; February was already at $5,080 midway through the month. “I think the overtime budget could be slashed quite a bit if we even got 1 more officer and 2 more dispatchers,” Saucier said.

Saucier framed the staffing change as a chain-of-command improvement: “Right now, you have the chief, you have your 4 sergeants, and then you have your patrolman. Because it's really difficult to monitor or even, kinda guide our sergeants. If we have a lieutenant, that would make things a lot easier.” He said a lieutenant would provide clearer supervision and an operational flow: patrol officer → sergeant → lieutenant → chief.

Training and academy slots figure prominently in the request. Saucier said each cadet costs about $3,500 for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and that travel and lodging add additional costs for downstate training. The department currently has one officer in the academy and hopes to send two more in August, which would require expanded training funds.

Saucier also requested several capital items for 2025: a three-year PowerDMS subscription to manage policies and training ($2,761.56 in 2025 as a first-year parcel payment), body armor replacement shared with a grant (city share about $10,000 in 2025), a leased TASER replacement program ($4,549.80 per year), cruiser radios and repeaters, and a planned new marked cruiser (quotes in the packet ranged up to $65,183.60 including equipment and installation). The chief presented a capital subtotal of $89,097 for 2025.

Saucier defended the training increases as investments that could yield other benefits: training officers who become certified instructors could host regional classes locally and build interagency cohesion. “When you and all of the guys know each other,” he said, “you have a day where you've got training and all that camaraderie. And I think it helps us if we have a situation where we need to call someone or we are responding to something in another town.”

Council members asked about recruitment prospects. Saucier said he has applicants for dispatcher openings and a few officers who have expressed interest in returning. He said the department would consider both internal promotion and external hiring for a lieutenant. On costs tied to pay raises and union contracts, Saucier noted that salary burdens reflect contractual increases and a 4% cost-of-living adjustment included elsewhere in the budget packet.

The presentation included a discussion of departmental operating lines — vehicle maintenance, tires, uniform replacement and training — and the chief indicated some lines could be trimmed (for example, communications expense). He also noted revenue offsets, including grant reimbursements (COPS grant and other salary reimbursements) that reduce net cost.

The council did not take a final vote on the chief’s requests during the Feb. 10 meeting; the department’s budget will be considered as part of the council’s ongoing municipal budget deliberations.