NORWAY – Norway, which has said it will hold off on hiring a new police chief until the vote on the Palesky tax-cap proposal, is not alone in the state.

At a Sept. 2 meeting, Town Manager David Holt said the hiring process may take the town “months,” but the tax measure has been cited as a major reason a new police chief won’t be hired before Nov. 2.

In western Maine alone, towns including Fryeburg, Paris and West Paris have discussed how the cap relates to open positions.

And the Maine Municipal Association, which has aggressively opposed the tax cap, has seen towns elsewhere in the state bar hiring in recent months.

It’s either that, “or a fair warning practice has been instituted by most municipalities,” said Geoff Herman, the association’s director of state and federal communications.

Portland, Herman said, has gone so far as to give new hires notices informing them that their jobs may be cut if the tax cap passes.

“It’s the prudent thing to do,” he said.

Norway’s Sgt. Robert Federico was asked to step into the chief’s job after the town fired Tim Richards in April. Since then the town has narrowed a field of candidates, including Federico, to three. Lie-detector tests and psychological examinations are planned, but a job offer is out of the question until at least Nov. 2.

“I just don’t think it would be fair to the candidate to hire them and then turn around and lay them off a month or two later,” said Leslie Flanders, chairman of the Norway Board of Selectmen.

Fryeburg is waiting to hire a police chief and a transfer station attendant.

Paris won’t lose Town Manager Steve McAllister for a few more weeks, but at a recent meeting Selectman Bruce Hanson urged board members to hire in-house.

With the tax cap looming, he suggested, an in-house candidate may be appropriate.

The tax cap would limit taxes to $10 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, based on values in 1996-1997. Many municipal officials have said the measure would cripple town services.

However, Flanders said, even if the cap is enacted there still may be enough money to hire a chief.

“We’re still not 100 percent sure because there are so many legal questions,” he said.

State lawmakers have said a rollback to 1996-97 property valuations may be illegal. In addition, Flanders said, SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman has said the school district may be willing to share in cutting costs as a result of the cap.

“People say we’re giving them scare tactics, but we have to go worst-case scenario and hope for the best,” Flanders said.

Fryeburg Town Manager Phil Covelli said that town’s police chief, Tom Hoepner, announced his resignation Sept. 22. He’d only been with the town since May.

“At that point it was decided to hold off on any future searches,” Covelli said. When a transfer station attendant resigned a week later, the same decision applied.

“We just thought it was a good idea to hold off,” he said. “It’s not fair to the potential employee as well.”

Federico said he’s learned a lot while handling the chief’s duties.

“Regardless of the outcome, it’s been a good experience for me,” he said.

He noted that he could stand to lose even his current job if the tax cap is enacted, and said he’s fortunate to have experience in other areas.

However, Federico said, “This is my life, and this is what I want to do and enjoy doing.”

Federico, said Flanders, is “doing a great job and we’re completely satisfied with him – there are no problems whatsoever.”