BREWER, Maine — Keeping a full force of officers has been a real challenge across the state, so some departments are looking at creative ways to build and sustain their teams.
A few months back, the city of Brewer was offering up to $20,000 under a set of specific requirements for a fully trained officer, the highest sign-on bonus offered for a fully trained officer in Maine.
It's an appeal that intrigued a former Waldo County Sheriff's Department deputy, who met most of the requirements for the sign-on bonus and calls Brewer home.
Officer Brandon Curtis has nearly five years of experience. He took the initiative to do a ride-along after hearing about the vacancy and met with everyone at the department.
Curtis qualified to get $15,000 as a sign-on bonus, which will be paid out to him over a period of two years. He didn't have all five years of experience needed to qualify for the full bonus amount.
Curtis told NEWS CENTER Maine he hopes to save some of that money and use it as a down payment for a house in the future.
"The bonus was nice. That can help attract good, qualified applicants. But it's certainly not the main reason I came here," Curtis said. "It helped make my decision easier."
His former boss, Waldo County Sheriff Jeff Trafton, said he's using the same bonus tactic.
Trafton, who has worked in law enforcement for 38 years, said he has seen deputies leaving more frequently now than in the past 10 years.
"We are now giving a $15,000 hiring bonus to certified police officers. And what we've done here -- same with our corrections officers -- if I have a corrections officer who wants to work here, I can now give him a $15,000 dollar sign-on bonus," Trafton said.
Trafton has recently lost three deputies, but they have all been replaced after hiring recruits from other law enforcement departments.
"All three are blue pinners who have worked for other agencies and are already certified," Trafton said. "I wish it wasn't that way. I feel guilty pulling from those other agencies, but unfortunately it's the way the system is set up right now."
Trafton said his deputies are unionized, along with his correctional officers.
"I try to sit down with our union folks at least once a month to talk about issues so that we don't lose more deputies," Traton said. "The deputies here are very busy, we are answering calls at record levels and that's very stressful."
Trafton also said he has increased the deputies' benefits and pay for about $4 per hour.
Once Curtis started at the Brewer Police Department, he trained for three more weeks and is now out patrolling throughout the city.
"[There is a] lot more area to cover with rural patrol at the [Waldo County] sheriff's office, as compared to here," Curtis said. "We worked rurally, so a lot of time is spent [traveling] to and from the calls."
In Brewer, he's working just inside city limits.
"He's very motivated, he's well trained, he was a perfect fit for our agency specifically," Jason Moffitt, Brewer's public safety director, said. "He is proactive. He likes to do drug work. He likes to deal with problems head-on basically."
Moffitt says Brewer is doing "pretty well" in regard to recruiting.
"Part of the attraction here in Brewer is we have a lot of support from our council and from our management and citizens in town. They feel appreciated," Moffitt said. "You feel like you are part of a team, part of a family."
"We still have the support of the public, I truly believe that here in Maine," Trafton said.
The city of Brewer is looking for an additional officer, but that recruit's sign-on bonus amount has not yet been set.