Gorham residents will get an opportunity to vote on whether to keep the town’s dispatching services in Gorham.

A Gorham citizens’ petition has narrowly forced a referendum to reverse a Gorham Town Council decision earlier this month to consolidate the town’s dispatching.

“It’s like the end of a wonderful life and the citizens of Gorham have earned their angel wings,” said dispatcher Julie Poland before the petition was filed on Monday.

On Aug. 2, the council approved consolidating Gorham’s dispatching with that of Cumberland County. The county took over Gorham’s dispatching last week.

Gorham Town Clerk Christina Silberman confirmed Tuesday that a citizens’ petition had enough signatures to force a referendum. She didn’t anticipate the petition would be challenged.

The Gorham Town Council was to meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, after the American Journal’s deadline, in a special meeting to set a date for the election, which has to come within 21 days from Monday. Silberman said the latest date for an election would be Sept. 12.

Gorham Town Manager David Cole said pulling together a special election within 21 days would be quite a task. “We respect anyone’s right to run a petition drive,” Cole said.

Karen Paro, who spearheaded that drive, filed the petition before the deadline on Monday, Aug. 22. “The voting public is furious,” Paro said.

Steve Morin, husband of former Gorham dispatcher, Trixi Morin, has announced he won’t seek reelection this fall to his seat on the Gorham School Committee. His announcement followed Paro’s earlier resignation as deputy chief of Gorham EMS.

In addition to a recent job change as a reason, Morin felt he had alienated town councilors with his role in trying to keep dispatching services in Gorham. “I don’t want my actions to be a liability for the school department,” Morin said.

Jennifer Elliott, registrar of voters, along with deputy registrars Silberman and Connie Loughran verified signatures until 7:45 p.m. Monday when they had certified 1,147 signatures, more than enough for a referendum. They finished tallying signatures on Tuesday with a final tab of 1,165 valid signatures, 43 more than needed. Petitioners, who estimated they had gathered 1,359, needed 1,122.

Two sets of petitions

Paro handed over two sets of petitions. She submitted the first, a short version with wording the citizens wanted, at 4 p.m., 30 minutes before the filing deadline.

Silberman faxed the wording to Town Attorney Bill Dale and then called him for an opinion on its wording. Dale told Silberman that any registered Gorham voter could challenge the short version. “Bill Dale believes the short version could be successfully challenged in court,” Silberman said.

At 4:29 p.m., Paro turned in another petition containing the full wording of the council’s action to consolidate. The town had previously approved wording of that version of the petition. Petitioners requested verification of both sets of petitions.

Matt Robinson, vice chairman of the town council, didn’t think the petition would be challenged. “We’re happy they turned in” the one with wording approved by the town, he said.

Robinson, who voted for the consolidation, said he respected the citizens right to petition. “More power to them,” he said after hearing the drive had enough signatures.

Silberman said the wording of the referendum question on the ballot would include the full order that the council passed. To make the election official, she said 2,245 voters would need to turn out.

Paro also told Silberman that a town councilor had marked and photographed some of the petitions with signatures on them. Some of the petitions were marked with a check or an “x.”

Robinson said he photographed and marked two of four petitions he saw unattended in stores. He initially questioned the validity of petitions left unattended but learned from Dale that it was legal for a local petition in Gorham.

Robinson has written a letter to the secretary of state about Maine’s requirements for petitions. He said he would like the town’s charter on petitions to be consistent with the state’s for future petitions. “Not for this one,” Robinson said.

Quick consolidation

Trixi Morin was a Gorham dispatcher until Aug. 16. “They fired me yesterday,” Morin said.

The county promised five full-time jobs and one part-time job to the six Gorham dispatchers, and five applied and received jobs. Morin, who didn’t apply for a dispatching job with the county, learned Tuesday that the county was taking over the next day when she received a call from a reporter.

Morin later recieved a letter from Town Manager David Cole after being called into the office of her boss, Police Chief Ron Shepard, at about 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Cole said Morin had every opportunity to be employed with better wages, better benefits and doing the same kind of work. He said Morin’s job with Gorham ended with the consolidation, but she wasn’t fired.

“I think it was an inaccurate portrayal of what factually happened,” Cole said. “For her to say she was fired was not correct.”

Paro said Morin wasn’t allowed to finish her shift and that no one in Gorham public safety knew that the county was taking over until Morin received the call from a reporter, Paro said.

“I was upset. Trixi and I cried together. I felt nauseous. I couldn’t hold my composure,” said Paro, a friend of Morin’s since childhood. “We’ve been buddies. We went to Westbrook schools together.”

Paro, who has stayed on as administrative assistant to Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre, said it “took all” she had to return to work the following day. “I came back with my head held high,” Paro said.

James Paul, president of Gorham Windham Professional Firefighters, said the mood inside Gorham Public Safety is “somber and distrusting.” Paul felt the town had pushed ahead with the merger despite the petition drive to stop it.

Jay Scholl, a member of a group that assists at the scene of emergencies known as the fire-police, isn’t happy with consolidation. He believes it’s a mistake. “I don’t think we’re going to get the service,” he said.

But Cole said the town would save money consolidating dispatch while maintaining all services.

Scholl feels the consolidation could be the first step. “It could lead to consolidation in other areas,” he said without being more specific.

But Cole said no discussions were underway to consolidate any other services. While he acknowledged that some in the fire department were upset about the consolidation, he said there were also probably some who are in favor of it but who are afraid to speak out because of peer pressure.

He said the consolidation timeline was consistent with his report to the Town Council on July 22. “I expected a transition in two to four weeks,” Cole said.

Rep. Chris Barstow, D-Gorham, who has supported regionalization, said he respected the petition drive as part of the democratic process and the right of the Town Council to make its decision. He’s sending letters this week to Cole and to Cumberland County Manager Peter Crichton.

“I’m going to ask them to slow down,” Barstow said. “My stake is to make sure the democratic process is served.”

Robinson said it’s unfortunate Cole and Lefebvre have been targeted with criticism. “The council should be getting the heat,” Robinson said.

With consolidation, Robinson said the town would realize a quarter of a million dollars in savings. He said the town had treated its employees better than the private sector. “I think most people are happy,” he said.

Jennifer Elliott, Gorham registrar of voters, holds the dispatch petitions after they were turned in Monday at town hall.Jennifer Elliott, Gorham registrar of voters, holds the dispatch petitions after they were turned on Monday at town hall.(petition 6) – Karen Paro hands in the dispatch petitions on Monday as Gorham Town Clerk Christina Silberman looks on.

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