Gorham dispatcher Trixi Morin’s answer to a cell phone call a couple weeks ago epitomized the emotional pitch the debate over consolidating the town’s and county’s dispatching services has reached.
“Gorham has lost its heart,” Morin said after the Town Council voted to consolidate.
Gorham dispatchers and others who oppose the consolidation took to the streets last week almost immediately after the vote to collect signatures in an attempt to bring it to a referendum. We have supported and continue to support the town manager’s recommendation to consolidate.
However, a town-wide vote on the consolidation could be a beneficial way to settle what has become such a divisive debate, and we would urge the town and county to slow their plans to consolidate enough to allow those working on the petitions enough time to bring it to one.
Those collecting signatures have only until Aug. 22 to collect the 1,122 signatures necessary to get a referendum question on the ballot. Although that’s not a long time, it might be just long enough considering volunteers will likely be able to gather quite a few signatures at the Gorham Family Fair this weekend.
Even so, the town and county seem to be moving ahead with the consolidation faster than Gorham dispatchers can say “10-4.” County Communications Director Bill Holmes said Friday the county was already in the process of moving radio equipment from Gorham’s to the county’s dispatching center.
On the same day, Gorham Town Manager David Cole said the town had already installed microwave communication equipment, linking the town to the county, at a cost of $7,250. That seems awful fast considering town councilors approved the consolidation earlier that week.
We supported Cole’s recommendation to consolidate because it would save the town money and the county guaranteed jobs for Gorham dispatchers who would lose their Gorham jobs. One full-time position, however, would be reduced to part-time.
The recommendation to consolidate came in a year in which the Legislature made tax relief and tax reform its top priority. As many citizens will see when they get their tax bills in the mail this month, the state still has a long way to go before it realizes any significant tax relief. Citizens and businesses in this state are still some of the most heavily taxed in the nation.
There are many reasons for that. One of the biggest is Maine is a large state with a lot of small towns and a lot of local control. That’s why Gov. John Baldacci has proposed “regionalization” as a way to reduce the tax burden.
This proposal is exactly the sort of thing towns will have to do if they want to contribute to reducing that burden. The county is offering to provide the service for $223,000 less than the town now spends on its dispatching budget.
That might seem like chump change when compared to Gorham’s $10.2 million town budget. But, in budgeting, everything adds up. A study the county conducted indicated towns and cities, with the exception of Portland, in Cumberland County could save $2.7 million collectively by consolidating dispatching services with the county, according to County Manager Peter Crichton.
Unfortunately, most of the savings comes from a reduction in the number of dispatchers. That’s part of the reason regionalization will be so difficult. Some people will lose their jobs.
In this instance, however, the county has guaranteed jobs for those displaced, and the dispatchers are still protesting the move, which brings us to the second reason regionalization will be so difficult: Citizens will lose some local control and some service. That’s largely what Gorham dispatchers have arguing: They know the town and its people.
In an emergency, most people would want someone who knew the town, and maybe even knew them, radioing for help as fast as possible. Even in a non-emergency, an elderly person who lived alone, for example, would likely appreciate a familiar voice checking in with them every day.
Two of Gorham’s dispatchers feel so strongly about what the change to a county dispatching service could mean that they’ve decided not to apply for the newly created dispatching jobs. Others have hit Gorham’s main commuting arteries to gather signatures.
If they gather enough, then people ought to get an opportunity to vote on it before the consolidation occurs. Because once it does, it’s going to be difficult to undo.
Perhaps, people would rather pay for the local service than save money on their tax bills. That wouldn’t bode well for regionalization or those looking for reform to bring about tax relief. But it might at least be a resolution to what seems to be becoming an emotional and divisive debate in Gorham.
Brendan Moran, editor
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