Town Manager’s Report delivered at the Town Council Meeting of January 8, 2024.

As we enter a new year and clean up from the first snowstorm of 2024, I have one upcoming event to share and will follow that with our public safety statistics for 2023. 

The Cape Elizabeth DEI Committee, in partnership with Best Buddies and Cape Arena, is hosting an Inclusion One Hour Skate with other activities beforehand at the Cape Arena on Saturday, February 3 from 10:00 am - 12:00 p.m. The event is for the Cape Elizabeth and South Portland Best Buddies chapters and their friends and family. The goal is to increase access to ice skating and winter activities for our community and to create opportunities for people with I.D.D. (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) to form friendships. The event will also include options of a CELT trail walk, quiet coloring, face painting, and a hot chocolate treat. Participants should bring their own skates, as well as any extra skates for others to borrow–however, you don’t need skates to join us! A registration link will be posted on the Town website for anyone wishing to attend. 

The Cape Elizabeth Fire Rescue Department responded to 1,447 calls for service during the calendar year 2023, compared to 1,134 in 2022, a 27.6 percent increase. The noticeable increase was most acute during the months of July and August. The majority of the calls, 943, or 65 percent, were EMS calls. Each call was answered with professionalism and commitment to customer service. 

The Cape Elizabeth Police Department experienced a sharp increase in calls for service. In the year 2022, the department responded to 7,838 calls for service and in 2023 that number rose to 10,981. Those numbers represent a 40.1 percent increase in the number of calls officers responded to last year. 

It should be noted that this was the first year in many years that the department was "fully staffed". Many of the increased calls were simply officer-initiated calls like traffic stops, area checks and parking issues. The area of calls with the sharpest increase were mental health calls. 

For reference or comparison, in 2021 there were 8,770 calls and in 2020 9,351 calls. 

I am thankful for the dedicated service of our public safety personnel, and thought this call data would be helpful information for the council as we enter into a new year and the upcoming budget season. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Matthew E. Sturgis, Town Manager