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Chief urges more full‑time officers as council weighs cost and hiring timelines
Summary
South Berwick’s police chief told the council the department is understaffed and increasingly reactive, citing rising calls for service and a request for two additional officers that would add roughly $302,000; councilors asked staff for scenarios and deferred a decision to a Tuesday follow‑up.
The Police Chief, speaking during a budget workshop, urged the South Berwick Town Council to consider adding two full‑time officers to a department he described as stretched thin by rising call volumes and a growing town population.
The chief said the department has not kept pace with population growth and cited calls for service that have roughly doubled over recent years. “In 2023 we logged 14,184 calls for service; in 2025 that rose to 15,179,” the Chief said, describing how officers are often the sole responder on a shift and how that limits community policing and event coverage. He said the request from the department would add roughly $302,000 to the budget if both positions were funded.
Councilors pressed the chief and staff on recruiting realities and costs. The chief described the certification timeline for new hires—an 18‑week criminal justice academy followed by about 12 weeks of field training plus background checks and other pre‑employment steps—estimating about nine to ten months to have a fully productive officer from a street hire. The council also discussed lateral hiring and the difficulty of filling part‑time or reserve positions that cannot perform the full suite of duties on serious incidents.
Council members also probed vehicle and technology costs tied to policing. Staff explained a planned migration to Motorola Flex, a records/RMS and CAD system integrated with regional dispatch, and noted the software and licensing costs being captured in operating/CIP lines. Members asked for clearer cost breakdowns for police vehicle purchases and outfitting—including radios, camera systems and in‑car computers—that can raise the per‑vehicle total toward $100,000.
Rather than decide at the meeting, the council asked staff to prepare scenario sheets showing the budgetary implications of alternatives—such as adding one officer, phasing hires, shifting part‑time hours, or deferring a cruiser purchase—and to present those scenarios at a follow‑up session the next Tuesday. The chair said no final decision would be made that night and that staff should return with modeled options so the council can act before the next formal meeting.
What’s next: staff will supply supplemental budget scenarios for the council’s Tuesday workshop so members can compare tradeoffs (additional staff vs. equipment purchases, phased hiring, or reallocation of part‑time hours).
