At their last meeting of the year, Lincoln County Commissioners approved an additional $86,560 for the Sheriff’s Office to increase spending for the Addiction Resource Center’s Sheriff’s Office-based employees.

With the number and severity of addiction issues rising in Lincoln County, Sheriff Todd Brackett said he felt that adding funding to substance abuse support and diversion from jail would be money well spent. Diversion and treatment cost a fraction of the cost of incarceration and the medical services provided in jail.

The costs of adding hours would be borne by the county, but some costs may be recouped in fewer jail-associated costs down the road. Brackett said that he was sorry he was coming at the moment at which the budget was nearly finished, but he felt the benefits to the county and to those affected by addiction outweighed the inconvenience of altering the budget at this late date.

The commissioners agreed, and voted 3-0 to include the new funding in the budget.

Brackett also asked to extend the shellfish wardens’ contracts while the town select boards are considering the contracts, some of which may not finish the process before the deadline in early January. The commissioners agreed to extend the contracts to the last meeting in January to give the towns time to approve the contracts.

EMA Director Tod Hartung reported that there were Homeland Security funds for a program called “I am Responding” which alerts fire departments to which other fire departments and personnel are responding to fires. Three fire departments are currently using the system, and a fourth, Dresden, had been using it before the selectmen decided not to fund the program any longer. However, with the additional funds, Dresden may rejoin the rest of the fire departments in its use. Hartung said there is enough money to pay for every fire department in the county to use the system. All that the departments have to provide are a computer and a monitor.

Hartung also said that all tower work is complete for the Simulcast system, and the whole system should be online by mid-January.

Administrator Carrie Kipfer presented a purchase order for the repair of a truck used for recycling. The county will be purchasing a new truck that is a short-distance truck in the next couple of months, since the long-haul trucks have issues with their exhaust systems that require overhauls regularly.

The county’s Employee Assistance Program will be continued for $1,064.

Kipfer reminded commissioners that two people will be leaving the Two Bridges Jail Authority board soon, and both need to be replaced. Anyone interested in serving from Lincoln County should contact Kipfer at 882-6311. Candidates must live in Lincoln County.

Commissioner William Blodgett agreed to serve on the Maine County Commissioners Association board of directors, and also to serve as the risk pool board of directors’ designee.

Kipfer said she would set up a meeting between the new Legislative delegation and the commissioners some time within the first couple of weeks of the new year, most likely at a breakfast meeting at the jail. The date will be announced.