Bangor budget workshop: Police budget rises with personnel costs; officials highlight full staffing, BCAT expansion and public‑information need

City Manager Deb Lohrey and police department staff told the City Council Wednesday that the Bangor Police Department’s FY2026 budget is largely driven by personnel costs and a handful of new program requests, including a public information officer to manage Freedom of Access Act (FOAA/FOIA) responses.

Deb Lohrey said the department is “fully staffed” for the first time in 14 years and that the staffing level will enable more community patrols and traffic enforcement. Officials also described the department’s work with specialized units, including three officers assigned to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the department’s crash‑reconstruction and investigations teams.

Calls for service and BCAT: staff reported roughly 35,000 calls for service annually; they said about a quarter of those involve people who are unsheltered or who have behavioral health needs. The Bangor Community Action Team (BCAT) handles a portion of those calls (the presentation noted the team answers roughly 1,200 calls a year and recently moved to six‑day coverage). Councilors and staff discussed expanding BCAT staffing after the pilot period; staff said the program was designed to start with four positions and that leadership may request additional staffing if the program demonstrates value.

Public information and FOIA workload: the department is requesting a new public information officer position. According to the presentation, a commanding officer currently manages public records and FOIA fulfillment, and staff reported that the department handles more than 1,500 FOIA responses a year. Councilors raised whether technology—such as large language models or other automation—could assist the department with redaction and responsive production; staff said they were open to exploring tools but would need to ensure privacy protections.

Technology and equipment: staff said the department has ordered a drone that will be used jointly with fire and other city services and will allow faster reconnaissance, accident mapping and search operations. The department also uses a remotely operated robot by tactical teams and spreads that robot’s $73,000 cost over five years; the budget contains a planned annual payment. Officials noted use of seizure funds to help cover equipment such as the robot and body‑worn cameras and said seizure revenue varies year to year depending on cases.

Dispatch and communications: councilors pressed staff on the cost and value of the city’s 24/7 dispatch operation. Staff estimated the communications center’s annual cost — driven largely by personnel and technology subscriptions — at roughly $780,000; they cautioned that apparent savings from consolidating dispatch at the county would be reduced once differences in staffing and the value of local triage were accounted for.

No final votes: the council did not take a vote at the workshop; staff will fold the police requests into the overall budget for later action.