Sheriff gets OK to make conditional offers to two deputy candidates as jail population and fraud cases draw attention

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners authorized the sheriff to make two conditional offers for patrol positions to Zachary Smith and Nicholas Greenleaf, even though only one vacancy existed at the time.

Sheriff (Speaker 4) explained he has one active vacancy and two strong local applicants he does not want to lose. He proposed issuing conditional offers contingent on an available position and successful completion of background checks and other pre-employment steps. Commissioner 3 moved to authorize the conditional hiring, the motion was seconded, and the board approved the authorization 3-0.

During the same portion of the meeting the sheriff reported a morning jail count of 156 and provided a jurisdictional breakdown (including inmates from Penobscot, Knox, Waldo and others) and discussed the Waldo contract, which runs through Dec. 31. Commissioners were updated that Bridges is hiring corrections officers to reopen pods and that some interjurisdictional jail agreements remain under legal review.

The sheriff also briefed the commission on a recent arrest tied to an elder-targeting scam and said detectives worked closely with the FBI because the case crossed state lines. He told commissioners that reported frauds in Lincoln County in 2025 alone are approaching $1,000,000 based on cases that have been reported to law enforcement, and urged residents not to pay with gift cards or bitcoin and to call police if targeted.

The conditional hire approvals were procedural and contingent on positions opening and successful completion of applicants' background checks.