AUBURN — The Androscoggin County Commission on Wednesday approved nearly $700,000 in pandemic relief funds to upgrade equipment and supplies for the Sheriff’s Department.

The American Rescue Plan Act funding was allocated among the patrol division, communications and the jail.

Patrol was seeking $272,422 for safety upgrades following the mass shooting Oct. 25, 2023, and the June 15 incident in Auburn, where a man shot one person, set a couple of homes on fire, and fired at several police officers, including four county deputies.

In evaluating their equipment needs and concerns about their safety, members of the patrol division urged administrators to provide every deputy with an individual first aid kit, including a tourniquet and ballistic helmets.

Other equipment requested to combat the growing violence on the streets includes 27 higher-quality body armor sets, 27 night-vision goggles, eight pepper ball tactical systems, eight ballistic shields, 40 Glock handguns with Aimpoint optics, and two new rifles with optics.

Commissioner Brian Ames of Lewiston did his own research and found a cheaper set of night-vision goggles that meet the same specifications but saved the county more than $40,000 off the total cost of 27 pairs. That reduced the total expenditure for the patrol division to $231,895

Communications requested $394,000 in upgrades, including console upgrades, improvements to communication towers, replacement of radio control stations and updates to the TAC1 simulcast radio system.

The jail asked for $39,295 for two exam tables with lights, an EKG machine, a digital scale, seven Tasers, a stun belt and four additional security cameras.

In other business, commissioners once again tabled a request to fund broadband expansion in Greene. Commissioners wrestled with the fact that residents at a town meeting this year voted against contributing money for the expansion by 17 votes. The county had originally conditionally approved $100,000 for the project, but with the town’s no vote, that funding will now cost the county $285,000 to do it without the town’s support.

Due to the no vote by residents, the board appeared split on whether to pay for the expansion.

“I think broadband is so important,” Commissioner Edouard Plourde of Lewiston said. “I think access to it is important.”

“It’s an investment in their future, but do we have an obligation?” Commissioner Terri Kelly of Mechanic Falls asked, referring to the no vote.

Commissioners approved spending an additional $150,000 to pay for new boilers for the jail. The board had previously approved sending $300,000 for the project in July.

Commissioner Andrew Lewis of Auburn, who sits on a committee with city officials to determine whether the Lewiston-Auburn 911 Center should merge with the county’s communication division, pushed for a vote on whether the commissioners supported such a plan.  Commissioners said they wanted to see a proposal before indicating whether to support it or not, but Lewis said developing such a plan would be time-consuming without knowing if it had the county’s support.

With no plan in hand or even a list of pros and cons, commissioners rejected Lewis’ motion 4-3. Lewis and Lewiston Commissioners Plourde and Roland Poirier voted yes, while Ames, Kelly, Sally Christner and Garrett Mason voted no.

The District Attorney’s Office is scheduled to move into its new home in the former Peck Building on Main Street on Oct. 7

With one more budget hearing scheduled for next week, commissioners will host a public hearing on the budget Sept. 18, when they will also finalize the proposed budget for the Budget Committee.