Passing through Bucksport? You'll soon be on camera.

Homeland Security-funded cameras will identify if a license plate is on a ‘hot list.’ Police say it’s an investigative tool rather than surveillance.

Bucksport police will soon have technology that reads every license plate that passes through town. File photo.

December 23, 2025

By Emily Baer

Bucksport town councilors discussed the future of the annual Bay Festival, emergency services agreements with Orland and Verona Island, and the installation of new license plate reader cameras among other items during their meeting on Dec. 18.

License plate cameras coming

Councilors voted to approve the installation of three license plate readers at the town’s only state-owned traffic light at the intersection of Main Street and Rt. 1.

The cameras are funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Hancock County. Maintenance and upkeep will also be funded through the grant.

Since 2022, public safety officials in Hancock and Washington counties, known as District 7,  have worked to install such cameras in high traffic areas. Bar Harbor Police Chief David Kerns spoke about his department’s success with the cameras on Mount Desert Island.

“These cameras aren’t like video or surveillance cameras,” Kerns said. “They take photos of license plates as vehicles travel by.” License plate numbers are then run through so-called “hot lists” which are “connected to federal databases for wanted persons, dangerous individuals, stolen vehicles, all of that,” Kerns said. 

If a license plate number were flagged, a notice is sent to law enforcement personnel within that jurisdiction. But, “it’s not just open to anyone,” Kerns said. “You need to have a case open with an audit trail.” 

The Bucksport Police Department would have access to all data collected within Hancock County. The cameras could also be used for AMBER alerts or similar instances but data collected through the plate reader cameras could only be accessed by federal agencies through subpoena.

“This [tool] is 100% investigative,” said Bucksport Police Chief Sean Geagan. 

Emergency services costs going up

Councilors voted to approve new emergency services agreements between Bucksport and Orland for ambulance services, and Bucksport and Verona Island for fire and ambulance services. 

Under the new agreement, ambulance services to Orland would cost $62 per resident. However, “Orland [officials] have advised that they intend to look at other services or other options that they may have,” Bucksport Town Manager Jacob Gran said.

Geagan, who serves as both police chief and as the town’s public safety director, clarified that a new agreement with Orland would only apply to ambulance services.

“The mutual aid agreement that we have with the fire department will not go away,” Geagan said. “The ambulance service is a separate service.”

For Verona Island, ambulance services would rise to $62 per resident and fire fighting to $75 per resident. 

Gran said Bucksport’s emergency services costs have not been amended since 2002.

““This [update] is long overdue and something that our public safety staff have been talking about for a number of years,” Gran said.

Each town will consider and vote on the proposed rates in the new year.

Bucksport Bay Festival needs new organizers

Bucksport’s economic development committee voted earlier this month to recommend that the town council consider soliciting proposals to have a local nonprofit or coalition of organizations take over the annual Bucksport Bay Festival. The town is no longer able to organize or fundraise for the event due to staff bandwidth.

“It’s grown every year for the past three years and staff have done an exceptional job,” Gran said. “[But] it is no longer viable for staff to have capacity to try and do this.”

“Its important to me that this continue,” said Rich Rotella, the town’s community and economic development director. Rotella said that three organizations have so far expressed interest in spearheading 2026 planning efforts.

“My goal was to get everyone [planning] together since this is a community event,” Rotella said.

Instead of the town planning and executing the event, staff would provide technical support, including sharing lists of vendors and past sponsors to whoever volunteered to take over the event. 

Rotella is accepting planning proposals from local organizations until mid-January. Proposals will be considered by the economic development committee during its Feb. 8 committee meeting. 

A moment of recognition

Mayor Paul Bisonnette expressed his appreciation for Council Member Steve Bishop’s service and contributions to town government. Bishop’s term as a town councilor is set to conclude at the end of the calendar year, 

 “It’s hard to outwork Steve,” Bisonnette said. “I really appreciate his commitment to this town and to this council.” 

Bishop is also a state representative in the Maine House of Representatives. “I’m not going anywhere,” Bishop said. “I still hope to be very active in what this council is working on and I’m just down the road if anyone needs me.”

The council also took a moment to recognize newly elected Miles Lane School student council members. Councilor Jennifer Therrien presented each student with a certificate of recognition from the Town Council

Waste update

In other news, Bucksport has resumed transporting all municipal solid waste to Innovative Resource Recovery in Hampden rather than to Juniper Ridge.

“The cardboard component of their recycling program is currently operational,” Gran said. “Their full material recovery recycling system is expected to be fully operational by March 2026.”

Council meetings are held at the Bucksport Town Office on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month at 7:00 p.m. The next town council meeting will take place on January 8.