PARIS — Patrols by the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office along the Canadian border have been reinstated after a monthlong hiatus.
Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant announced Wednesday afternoon that deputies will again be eligible for federally funded Operation Stonegarden Patrol details.
Gallant said reinstating the details puts money back into the pockets of deputies.
“I never wanted to cancel the program. I’m glad this is back up,” he said.
The patrols will be conducted in collaboration with the Rumford Police Department to focus on the greater Rumford area, which Gallant described as a major transitory route for summer travelers.
“The enhanced police visibility and coverage will help ensure safe travels and hopefully mitigate potential criminal activity,” Gallant said.
Gallant declined to discuss the specific nature of the work, but said it would include several safety checkpoints.
The announcement reverses the sheriff’s decision to cancel patrols for July and August because of a dispute over how to schedule deputies for assignments.
Created through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2004 to prevent illegal border crossings between Maine and Canada, county participation in the program is voluntary, but lucrative. On average, deputies could earn several hundred dollars a month in overtime pay for the seven-hour shifts.
Conflict arose a few months ago when a grievance over how the details were scheduled resulted in a county labor consultant ruling that patrols were not being assigned according to the terms of their contract with the county.
Compliance with the ruling was onerous, Gallant said, and would have taken a considerable amount of time out of each day to enforce.
Last month, the decision to shut down the program was dragged into the outstanding contract negotiations between deputies and the county, when union representatives decried it as retaliation against deputies for filing grievances.
Deputies have been without a contract since 2011, though both sides still abide by the terms of the expired deal. The starting wage for new Oxford County deputies is one of the lowest in the state, though most earn well above it.
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