DIXFIELD – “I’m not using this as a scare tactic, but the reality of Palesky, if it goes through, then me and my men are out,” Dixfield Police Chief Richard A. Pickett said Monday.

“That’s a pretty done deal,” he added.

Pickett spoke out against the proposed tax cap when selectmen failed earlier in Monday night’s board meeting to take a stand on the issue.

As a member of the Maine Police Chiefs Association, Pickett said the tax cap “will cripple law enforcement.”

He asked selectmen to put together an analysis “like Jay did” to see what the Palesky proposal would do to the town.

“People have got to be aware of what it’s going to do to our community and that’s the selectmen’s responsibility,” Pickett said.

Town Manager Nanci Allard agreed. If it is approved, Dixfield would lose $1.4 million, Allard said, and cuts would have to be made to compensate for the loss.

She also advised selectmen that she had been told by the Maine Municipal Association that selectmen cannot work against the tax-cap referendum, but they can provide information to the public about its effects.

Dixfield businesswoman Norine Clarke disagreed, saying it was “all right” for the Board of Selectmen to have an opinion.

“I don’t think you have to mince words,” Clarke said. She also said that according to the MMA, Dixfield would have to cut 52 percent from its budget should the tax cap be approved.

Like Pickett, she urged selectmen to give Dixfield voters the normal budget numbers and the numbers “if Palesky goes through.”

Pickett also said that it’s a misconception that if the tax cap passes, state and county police would be hiring more officers to take up the slack when affected towns shut down their police departments.

Selectmen agreed to have Allard bring to the board’s next meeting on Oct. 18, figures showing what effects the tax-cap referendum would have on Dixfield’s municipal government and education.