Board reappoints chief deputy Rand Maker as sheriff outlines jail trends and extends behavioral health liaison contract
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Summary
Lincoln County commissioners approved the reappointment of Chief Deputy Rand Maker, heard jail population updates and training requests from the sheriff's office, and authorized a contract extension with Sweetser for a behavioral health liaison through July 30, 2026 at $8,080.03 per month.
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners on March 17 approved the reappointment of Rand Maker as chief deputy after Sheriff (speaker 6) formally announced Maker’s return and praised his leadership.
Maker, who the board confirmed by voice vote, told commissioners the county jail populations have declined overall, with facility counts he characterized as ‘‘both getting smaller’’ in pretrial and sentenced populations. He also asked the board to authorize several routine expenditures tied to public safety operations.
The board approved a $3,500 Maine Criminal Justice Academy tuition payment for a deputy currently in the Basic Law Enforcement Academy and a $34.20 annual subscription renewal for the office’s live-scan fingerprint system. Maker said the electronic live-scan reduces rejected prints and submits data directly to state and federal systems.
Commissioners also approved the purchase authorization of two traffic radars at a $5,000 cost that Maker said will be fully reimbursed through a highway safety grant. Maker confirmed the radars will be calibrated annually and that the ones purchased are new hardware for county traffic enforcement.
Separately, the board authorized an extension of the county’s behavioral health liaison contract with Sweetser, continuing the position at $8,080.03 per month through July 30, 2026. Maker said the extension aligns the contract with the county’s budget year and that opioid settlement funds had been used as an offset revenue source for the position. The county intends to revisit contract timing to better align future terms with the fiscal year.
The sheriff and chief deputy’s remarks were procedural and informational; no changes to jail policy were made at the meeting. The board recorded voice votes for each motion; all actions summarized here passed by voice vote (ayes recorded).
