MECHANIC FALLS – Tri-town leaders may create joint police, fire and rescue services within a few years.

At the second combined meeting of Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland officials, a discussion about sharing fire and rescue dispatching led to talk of forming joint public safety departments.

The Mechanic Falls Town Council and the boards of selectmen of Minot and Poland met together to find future regional approaches to areas of mutual interest and cooperation. The towns are bonded together by the Union 29 school system.

After the first meeting on Feb. 27, subcommittees were formed to explore the possibilities of sharing a tax assessor and a combined emergency dispatch service.

“If the three towns would get together with dispatching, it would help with mutual aid,” said Minot Selectman Stephen French.

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department will begin dispatching Poland’s fire and rescue calls on July 1. French said Minot is looking at the situation, but wants to wait and see how it works out for Poland.

Mechanic Falls Town Manager Dana Lee raised the issue of a three-town fire and rescue department within a few years.

“If we ever wanted to, the only obstacle would be the dispatch system,” he said of the current situation where each town is dispatched by a different source.

“One of the most important things is how to man fire and rescue. You’ve got to have someone there. There’s going to be times when you’re not going to have someone there,” said Minot Selectman Buster Downing.

Poland has both hourly and per diem employees working for the rescue department. Town Manager Richard Chick said the town is paying these people but that the volume of calls is lacking. Poland is now in the process of combining its fire and rescue departments into one department.

“Volunteerism is down. We might have to do what Poland has done (with per diem employees),” Lee said. He added that the three towns could end up in a bidding war, fighting over the same per diem paramedics. “These little departments are struggling.”

Also discussed was the possibility of mutual tax assessing. Minot is conducting a revaluation this year, and Mechanic Falls is looking at doing it in 2004-05. Lee said a current obstacle is that the three towns must be on a level playing field with valuation, methods of assessing and the level of service. It was agreed that the three towns might be in a position to combine assessing services by late 2005.

Other issues considered included combined purchases of construction and fire equipment and bidding for paving of roads.

The towns’ representatives plan to meet again in September.