PARIS — Selectmen discussed putting the police merger up for a second vote Monday, but a motion to put the question on the Nov. 6 ballot failed 3-2. A date for the vote was not set.

On Aug. 13, a vote on whether the Paris Police Department would enter a temporary agreement with the Norway police tied 41-41.

Board members, and several residents, felt the town should vote on the question again, as the tied vote was indecisive. Chairman Sam Elliot favored getting the question into the Nov. 6 election, because he expected the presidential election would guarantee a high turnout.

However, ballot questions must be submitted 45 days before the election, giving the town less than two weeks to word the merger question. The cost for a ballot question that electronic readers can count is $2,800, plus another $2,800 next November if it passes and the town asks residents to make the merger permanent.

Selectman Robert Kirchherr suggested waiting until the June election, when there will already be ballot questions and the town won’t have to write up a separate ballot form for the merger vote. “There’s no reason to expedite this,” Kirchherr said.

Selectman Ryan Lorrain agreed with Elliot. He noted that many residents can’t make it to Monday night meetings and didn’t get a chance to vote on the merger the first time around. Last month, 82 people voted on the merger. That was less than 2 percent of the town’s population.

Some residents accused Elliot of wanting to “ram through” the merger without taking another look at it. Kathy Richardson said there wouldn’t be time for residents to discuss the merger and try to rewrite something that works for residents. Richardson said she didn’t oppose a merger, but didn’t like the version proposed.

Having residents vote again in November, she said, “Would leave us no choice but to lobby against it.”

Elliot said he wasn’t trying to force the issue either way, but simply wanted the largest sample of Paris residents to vote on the issue. He proposed asking residents for specifics they’d want in the merger before sending the question out for the ballot. His motion to put the question on the Nov. 6 ballot failed 3-2.

Norway voters already supported a merger in June. The plan would put Norway Chief Robert Federico in charge of both departments. Paris Police Chief David Verrier, who was first planning to serve as a school resource officer, would be a detective. The plan would allow the department to have two officers on patrol at all times, and all officers would be able to enforce town ordinances in both towns.

One resident, Rick Little, proposed getting coverage from the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office. The town had already decided against county coverage because of the cost. Little proposed using fewer officers than the Sheriff’s Office had quoted.

Little’s proposal would have four deputies assigned to Paris. The Paris Police Department has officer positions, including Chief Verrier. Little said he had not run his numbers by the Sheriff’s Office.

The board will revisit the issue at a later meeting.

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