MEXICO — The question of the future Mexico police coverage is moving to the June ballot.

Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day posted on the town’s Facebook page Jan. 28 that the reason was due to confusion about the surveys mailed to more than 2,000 registered taxpayers asking them to weigh-in on future police coverage. Two days earlier, James Theriault, the former town police chief, made a case on Facebook, Sun Journal and Rumford Falls Times to reestablish the local department and explaining why he thinks voters should do so.

Welch-Day clarified three things regarding the current coverage from the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office:

• The 24-hour coverage from OCS is exactly that, 24-hour coverage with a dedicated deputy sheriff in Mexico every day.

• 18-hour coverage means 6 a.m. to midnight, with an officer in town and an officer on call between midnight and 6 a.m.

• At any given time in Oxford County, there are 15-17 officers on duty to cover the county.

She said an informational meeting will be held prior to the vote, and asked the taxpayers to continue to turn in their surveys (due at the Town Office by Feb. 14) as the results of that will help them phrase the article on the June ballot.

Theriault, hired as administrative assistant after the department suspended operations in August 2024 due to lack of officers, has a mission to look at the feasibility of the move. “I’ve identified five qualified people interested in serving our community, plus myself,” he said, adding that he has passed the certification test to be a police officer.

However, with this latest development, Theriault said he told Welch-Day that he’s “not stringing them along anymore.”

He stressed that he needs to have a meeting with the town manager and Select Board. “If they wait ’til June, they might as well shut it down now and give it all to the Sheriff.”

Regarding the qualified people for a reestablished police department, Theriault said two of the individuals are local and three are “from away and are excited to bring their families to this wonderful town. I also have four to five reserve officers ready to support our department. We have to pause the final hiring steps” until the surveys are received, “but I am ready to move ahead quickly if that’s what citizens choose.”

Town officials have put forward the following options and the estimated cost for each:

• Option 1: Continue with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, which the town pays for through its annual county assessment.

• Options 2: Contract with the Sheriff’s Office for 18-hour coverage from 6 a.m. to midnight for $480,544 per year.

• Option 3: Contract with the Sheriff’s Office for 24-hour coverage from 6 a.m. to midnight and on-call only from midnight to 6 a.m. for $630,795.

Welch-Day said the estimated cost to reestablish the department is $945,920 per year.

Theriault said town officials say “this would average approximately $300 per year per taxpayer.”

He listed what the town has in place and the plan to rebuild:

• The town owns all its equipment and vehicles, which they would keep.

• The town has a federal COPS Grant available for a school resource officer and there is someone interested in the position.

• The town has mutual aid agreements with Rumford, the Sheriff’s Office and state police.

• The town will cover six full-time positions to ensure 24-hour coverage.

Theriault said one of the six positions includes a detective, a position voters approved last year but was never filled.

“Having our own detective means when something happens in town, whether it’s a break-in, theft, or any serious crime, we have someone dedicated to following up, gathering evidence and solving these cases,” Theriault said. “Without a detective, many of these cases might go cold simply because officers are too busy handling daily emergency calls to do the detailed investigative work.”

He said, “I’ve seen firsthand how having someone who can focus on solving crimes against the person, crimes against children and crimes against the elderly and, who knows our community and can build trust with victims and witnesses, makes a real difference in making sure criminals are caught and our residents get justice.”