An Act Creating the Central Maine Regional Public Safety Communication Center
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1683
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: DAGGETT, MOODY, HALL, TREAT, BROWNE, COLWELL, COWGER, SUSLOVIC, THOMPSON

Legislative Document 
No. 1683 
S.P.615 
In Senate, December 17, 2003 
An Act Creating the Central Maine Regional Public Safety 
Communication Center 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 16,2003. Referred to the Committee 
on Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 218. 
Presented by President DAGGETT of Kennebec. 
Cosponsored by Representative MOODY of Manchester and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: HALL of Lincoln, TREAT of Kennebec, Representatives: BROWNE of Vassalboro, 
Speaker COLWELL of Gardiner, COWGER of Hallowell, McKEE of Wayne, SUSLOVIC of 
Portland, THOMPSON of China. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. Communication center established; powers. 
The following 
provisions govern the establishment and powers of the Central 
Maine Regional Public Safety Communication Center. 
1. 
Center established. 
The Central Maine Regional Public 
Safety Communication Center, 
referred to in this Act as "the 
center," 
is 
established 
to 
provide 
emergency 
communication 
services 
to participating state, 
county 
and municipal public 
safety agencies 
in the central Maine 
region. 
The 
following 
agencies and municipalities may participate in the establishment 
of 
the center: 
the 
Maine 
State Police, 
the 
Kennebec 
County 
Sheriff's office and the municipalities of Augusta, 
Gardiner, 
Oakland, Waterville and Winslow. 
2. 
Povers. 
The center is a body both corporate and politic 
in the State and may: 
A. 
Sue and be sued; 
B. 
Have a seal and alter the seal at pleasure; 
C. 
Adopt 
bylaws 
and 
amend 
the 
bylaws 
covering 
its 
procedures and rules and publish those bylaws and rules as 
publication is necessary or advisable; 
D. 
Cause records of its proceedings to be kept; 
E. 
Permit additional agencies or instrumentalities of this 
State or any of its municipalities or bodies existing in the 
municipalities, 
regional 
councils, 
quasi-municipal 
corporations, special purpose districts and authorities to 
join or withdraw from the center subject to any contractual 
agreements, rules or procedures in its bylaws; 
F. 
Acquire, hold and dispose of personal property for its 
purposes; 
G. 
Acquire, hold and dispose of in the name of the center, 
by purchase, lease or otherwise, real property and rights or 
easements 
in 
real 
property 
determined 
by 
the 
center 
necessary 
or 
desirable 
for 
its purposes, 
and 
use 
that 
property; 
H. 
Charge and collect fees for services made available and 
use the proceeds of the fees for the purposes provided in 
this Act; 
Page l-LR2241(l) 
I. 
Make 
contracts 
wi th 
the 
United 
States 
or 
any 
instrumentali ty or agency of the United States, this State 
or any of its agencies or instrumentalities, municipalities, 
public 
corporations 
or 
bodies 
existing 
in 
the 
public 
corporations, 
private 
corporations, 
partnerships, 
associations and individuals; 
J. 
Accept grants and the cooperation of the United States 
or any agency of the United States in the construction, 
maintenance, reconstruction, operation and financing of the 
center and do any and all things necessary to avail itself 
of that aid and cooperation and repay any grant or part of 
any grant; 
K. 
Employ 
assistants; 
agents: 
architectural 
and 
construction 
attorneys: and other employees it 
desirable for its purposes: 
engineering, 
traffic, 
experts; 
inspectors; 
determines necessary or 
L. 
Exercise any of its powers in the public domain of the 
Uni ted States, unless the exercise of those powers is not 
permitted by the laws of the United States: 
M. 
Borrow money and make, 
issue and sell at public or 
private sale negotiable notes, bonds and other evidences of 
indebtedness or obligations of the center for the purposes 
set 
forth 
in 
this 
Act 
and 
secure 
the 
payment 
of 
an 
obligation or any part of an obligation by pledge of all or 
any part of the operating revenues of the center: 
N. 
Enter into loan or security agreements with one or more 
lending institutions, including, but not limited to, banks, 
insurance companies and pension funds, or trustees for those 
institutions, for purposes for which bonds may be issued, 
and exercise with respect to a loan or security agreement 
all of the powers delineated in this Act for the issuance of 
bonds; and 
o. 
Take all other lawful action necessary and incidental to 
these powers. 
Sec. 2. Governmental function and status. 
The purposes of this 
Act 
are public 
and 
the 
center is 
regarded as 
performing 
a 
governmental function in carrying out this Act. 
The center is a 
local district for purposes of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
5, Part 20; 
a political subdivision for purposes of Title 14, 
chapter 741; 
and a public employer for purposes of Title 26, 
chapter 9-A. 
Sec. 3. Governance. 
The 
following provisions 
govern 
the 
center. 
1. 
Governing 
council. 
The 
center 
operates 
under 
a 
governing council. 
A. 
The governing council consists of one voting member from 
each 
participating 
municipality 
and 
one 
from 
each 
participating agency that uses the services of the center. 
B. 
The governing council must meet at least twice 
to establish and 
review center policies 
and 
to 
guidance to the center's board of directors. 
annually 
provide 
c. 
The governing council may override a decision of the 
board of directors when at least 5 governing council members 
sign a petition requesting a special meeting of the council 
and approve a motion to override by a weighted 2/3 vote, as 
described in paragraph D, of those council members present 
at the special meeting. 
D. 
Each participating entity may cast one vote and all 
votes of the governing council are tabulated as described in 
this paragraph. 
The 
municipalities 
vote 
in 
a 
weighted 
manner that is calculated based upon the total population of 
each municipality as a proportion of the total population of 
all the municipalities that use the services of the center. 
The 
governing 
council 
shall 
utilize 
the 
most 
recent 
decennial census data for determining the population of a 
participating municipality. 
If participating in the center, 
the Maine State Police representative has the same weighted 
vote 
as 
the 
most 
populous 
municipality 
that 
uses 
the 
services of the center. 
If participating in the center, 
Kennebec County has a weighted vote equal to 1/2 of the 
weighted vote of the most populous municipality that uses 
the services of the center. 
At the first annual meeting of 
the governing council during each year 
of 
the center's 
operation, the exact weight of each council member's vote 
must be 
recorded in the minutes of the meeting and be 
distributed to each member of the governing council. 
2. 
Board of directors. 
The board of directors of the 
center consists of representatives from the following agencies 
and municipalities that participated in the center's feasibility 
and implementation studies, if those governmental units choose to 
participate in the center: 
the Maine State Police, the Kennebec 
County Sheriff's office, Augusta, Gardiner, Oakland, Waterville 
and Winslow. 
The board of directors must also include 2 at-large 
members 
selected 
by 
the 
governing 
council 
who 
represent 
municipalities that are served by a dispatch system that preceded 
the establishment of the center and that have also joined the 
center. 
A. 
The board of directors shall, 
through procedures it 
adopts, add 4 advisory board members who serve the board of 
directors in an advisory capacity but have no power to bind 
the center. 
Each of the 4 advisory members must be selected 
to represent the interests of one of the following public 
safety and service agencies: 
fire, police, ambulance and 
emergency 
medical 
services 
and 
general 
governmental 
services. 
The 
advisory board members may not vote on 
matters 
related 
to 
financial 
issues 
but 
may 
register 
advisory votes on any other policy or procedural issues as 
determined by a simple majority of the board of directors. 
B. 
The board of directors shall operate for a period not to 
exceed 3 years from the date of the center's inception. 
At 
the end of that period, 
the terms of the initial board 
members terminate and a permanent board of directors must be 
established. 
A participating entity may not have more than 
representatives serving on the board of directors. 
The 
permanent 
board members 
serve at the pleasure of their 
appointing authorities. 
If they participate in the center, 
the 
following entities 
may 
have 
representatives 
on 
the 
permanent board of directors: 
(1) 
The Maine State Police, appointed by the Chief of 
the State Police; 
(2) 
The Kennebec County Commissioners, 
appointed by 
the chair of the Kennebec County Commissioners; 
(3) 
Each 
population, 
boards; 
of 
the 
appointed 
largest 
by 
their 
municipalities, 
by 
municipal 
governing 
(4) 
Two 
municipalities 
appointed 
by 
the 
governing 
council 
as 
at-large 
director:s 
for 
2-year 
terms. 
At-large 
directors 
may 
be 
reelected 
and 
are 
not 
restricted from serving more than one term; 
(5) 
Public service sectors: 
fire, police, ambulance 
and 
emergency 
medical 
services 
and 
nonemergency 
ancillary 
governmental 
services 
represented 
by 
advisory board members selected pursuant to a procedure 
adopted by the board. 
The 4 advisory members may not 
vote on matters related to financial issues but may 
register 
advisory 
votes 
on 
any 
other 
policy 
or 
procedural issues as determined by a simple majority of 
the board of directors; and 
(6) 
A governmental entity that formally 
joins the 
center after the inception of the center as a member by 
closing an existing dispatch operation that serves a 
population of more than 10,000 people. 
C. 
The board of directors shall ensure that the center is 
operated in accordance with the policies established by the 
governing council. 
The board of directors shall: 
(1) 
Appoint the executive director of the center and 
provide regular oversight to ensure that the executive 
director is operating the center consistently with the 
board's directives; 
(2 ) 
Submi tits recommended annual budget and capi tal 
budget to the governing council; and 
(3) 
Establish bylaws and general operating procedures 
for the center. 
D. 
The executive director of the center serves at the 
pleasure of the board of directors. 
The executive director 
is the chief administrator of the center and is responsible 
for the operational management of the center. 
The executive 
director is responsible for the preparation of the annual 
budget, policy development and implementation of both budget 
and general policies adopted by the board. 
E. 
The initial staff of the center must be selected from 
within the pool of current dispatch employees employed by 
any municipality or agency that joins the center. 
Permanent 
employees of the center are eligible to elect to participate 
in the 
Maine 
State 
Retirement 
System, 
a 
state-deferred 
compensation plan or any other plan. or program adopted by 
the board of directors. 
The rights or obligations of any 
municipality or agency that joins the center that arise out 
of an existing collective bargaining agreement to which it 
is a party may not be abrogated by operation of' this Act. 
The center shall bargain with any local union selected by 
the 
employees 
that 
is 
entitled 
to 
recognition 
as 
the 
collective bargaining agent. 
Sec. 4. Liability. 
The liability of the center is governed by 
the 
Maine 
Revised 
Statutes, 
Title 
14, 
chapter 
741. 
Notwithstanding Title 14, chapter 741, a member of the governing 
council of the center, a member of a board of directors of the 
center or an employee of the center is not subject to 
any 
personal liability for acting in the service of duty as a member 
of 
the 
center 
within the course and scope of membership or employment to carry 
out a power or duty under this Act. 
The center shall indemnify a 
member of the center's governing council, 
a member of a board 
directors of the center or an employee of the center against 
expenses actually and necessarily incurred in connection with the 
defense 
of 
an 
action or 
proceeding in which 
the 
member 
or 
employee is made a party by reason of past or present association 
with the center. 
Sec. 5. 
Operational funding; cost-distribution method; in-kind 
contributions. 
The center operates on an equitable shared-funding 
basis, based on a formula created by the board of directors and 
approved by the governing council, that distributes costs on an 
equitable basis that considers both fixed and variable costs and 
that 
reasonably 
reflects 
call-volume 
usage, 
population 
or 
valuation. 
Each participating agency and municipality that is a 
member 
of 
the 
center 
shall 
contribute 
a 
portion 
of 
the 
operational costs on 
a 
continuing basis. 
If they choose to 
participate in the center, the Maine State Police and Kennebec 
County shall contribute for the first 3 years at the amount 
established in the 
year 
of 
the center's inception. 
In-kind 
contr ibutions, including those specif ic services for the center 
undertaken 
by participating entities, 
must 
be 
calculated and 
included in the cost-distribution formula. 
After the initial 
3-year term of operation of the center, the board of directors 
shall 
biannually 
approve 
a 
formula 
for 
distribution of 
the 
center's operational costs. 
Sec. 6. Capital replacement fund. 
The board of directors shall 
establish and maintain a capital replacement fund to ensure the 
technological viability of the center. 
Each participating entity 
must 
contribute 
to 
this 
fund 
in 
a 
manner 
similar 
to 
the 
cost-distribution method established under 
section 
and 
the 
formula created by the board of directors and approved by the 
governing council. 
Sec. 7. Effective date: creation of center. 
This Act takes effect 
when 2 or more municipalities or agencies eligible to participate 
in the establishment of the center pursuant to this Act complete 
by vote or signature of their governing authority an interagency 
agreement 
and 
notify 
the 
chair 
of 
the 
Kennebec 
'County 
Commissioners and the Secretary of State, except that in no event 
may this Act take effect wi thin 90 days after adjournment of the 
Within 210 days 
but not less than 150 
days after adjournment of the Second 
Regular 
Session of 
the 
l2lst Legislature, 
municipalities 
or 
agencies 
wiShing 
to participate in the establishment of 
the 
center must decide by vote or direction of the municipality or 
agency authority whether to participate in the creation of the 
center. 
Upon 
receiving appropriate notice, 
the chair of the 
Kennebec County Commissioners shall call the first meeting of the 
governing council, which constitutes the creation of the center. 
SUMMARY 
This bill creates the Central Maine Regional Public Safety 
Communication Center.