BRUNSWICK

The Brunswick Police Department is understaffed after losing seven officers last year, and according to the chief of police, current officers are feeling taxed by the overtime.

At Thursday’s Finance Committee meeting, Police Chief Richard Rizzo said the department is short staffed by about six officers, saying people are not as drawn to the profession as they once were.

“We are pretty lean, as you can see,” Rizzo said while presenting the department’s proposed $3.9 million budget to the committee.

Last year, in what the chief called a tsunami year, two officers retired, three resigned and two were terminated, leaving several openings in the patrol division. Currently, there are 35 full-time officers at the department. Two officers are in training at the police academy now and the department is looking to recruit four more.

The impact of the staffing shortage means fewer officers on patrol, less traffic stops, increased response times to calls and stressed officers who have little time for community outreach, Rizzo said.

For an officer to be ready to hit the streets after recruitment, vetting and training, it takes about one year. When an officer is ill or needs a day off, another officer must be called in to cover the shift and take overtime pay. The chief said the officers on staff now are overworked, but the department is keeping a good eye on them to ensure the hours are not too much, and officers also advocate for each other.

“They are younger and stronger, and can work longer hours, but it does affect morale,” the chief said. Rizzo said the officers in the department are a dedicated and hardworking group that has handled the overtime schedule well.

“We’ll get up to speed and a better balance when we hire more officers,” Rizzo said.

Currently, the department has 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents. In comparison, Auburn has 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents.

“It’s more work per officer, but they do a great job, and we have a low crime rate and good citizens,” Rizzo said at the meeting.

Last year, there were 26,000 calls for service, which was a slight decrease from the previous year by about 1,700 calls. There were 962 arrests, 5,000 cars stopped, and 701 tickets issued.

The overtime budget has been overdrawn by about $10,000 to $15,000, but is not considered a budget problem as the department is not paying salaries for the vacant positions, Rizzo said.

The chief said recruiting potential employees to join the profession is more difficult than 20 to 30 years ago.

“It used to be hundreds vying to get six jobs,” he said, adding this is a national problem that extends beyond Brunswick.

The lack of applicants can be traced to several different reasons, including officers not being paid adequately for the type of work they do, and shift work being less appealing for young men and women who may prefer a regular 9- to-5 job to help balance in work and home life, the chief said. He also said there is a small faction of people in the country who are not respectful of the profession, which may also deter people from entering the force.

The town elected to grant officers a cost of living raise last year and to increase the salary for officers by two to three dollars an hour in January. The base pay for a new hire with a high school diploma to a college degree ranges from $41,000 a year to $49,000 a year, according to department materials.

Entry-level pay for new Brunswick patrol officers is now $20 per hour, and retroactive to July 1, 2016, per a contractual agreement approved by the Brunswick town councilors. The increase, up several dollars an hour, is aimed to help Brunswick compete with other police departments also looking for new officers.

In addition to the pay increase, the department is looking to attract officers by developing partnerships with local colleges, as well as attending job fairs and Maine veterans hiring events.

jlaaka@timesrecord.com