FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners agreed Monday to send out a survey to municipalities in the county to see if officials are interested in potentially regionalizing public services.

The initiative comes from the Maine County Commissioners Association. The association’s sample letter will be changed to have a Franklin County letterhead.

The survey is an attempt to see if towns are interested in services being regionalized at the county level, with the possibility of providing them at a reduced cost.

“The recent Maine legislative session was a very difficult one for anyone involved with Maine government, and the wrangles over limited revenues and competing programs only too clearly demonstrate that public service delivery throughout the State of Maine must change if Maine residents are to receive the services they need at an affordable price,” according to the letter.

It notes that all around the country, counties provide cost-effective, regional answers to service delivery, and in many cases, remove duplication and redundancy.

The state’s counties are already statutorily authorized to provide municipal services.

Through cooperation from municipalities and some adjustments in staffing and the use of other resources, the services may provide cost savings through an economies of scale, the letter states.

At an association meeting, it was brought up that fire departments could potentially be regionalized, Commissioner Fred Hardy of New Sharon said.

“Where would you put the firetruck?” he said. “That will never work.”

“Why should there be a ladder truck in Jay, a ladder truck in Wilton, a ladder truck in Farmington?” Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay asked.

The departments could see what equipment is needed, and different equipment could reside in each town to provide services, he said.

The towns already have mutual aid, he said, and it could save taxpayers money.

It is not about eliminating fire departments, he said, it is about trying to coordinate services.

Chairman Clyde Barker of Strong said he could see how that could work in southern towns in the county, but was unsure if it would work in the northern towns, since there’s so much distance between them.

The association’s letter included a list of public services that are, or could be, provided by counties to reduce financial burdens on municipalities. It is not an all-inclusive list but a product of brainstorming and may be used as a starting point for discussion and further thought, according to the letter.

The association also states it realizes “the municipalities are diverse in the county, but then diversity should not automatically prevent towns and cities from working in cooperation with respective counties to find more economical solutions to public service delivery.”

Ideas on what services municipal officials would like to see regionalized are due by the end of September.

Among the potential county public services are airport operation and maintenance; animal control; building inspection and code enforcement; community and economic development; financial management, accounting and auditing; fire-rescue districts; general assistance, welfare and human services; and land-use planning.

Other public services include administration of grants, information technology, insurance programs, joint purchasing, libraries, parks operation and management, property tax billing, public transportation, road maintenance and capital projects, schools and education, and solid waste management.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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