The town of Mexico’s fleet of police cruisers are seen in August 2024. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times file

MEXICO — Residents have voted against reinstating their local police department, opting instead for continued coverage by the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

The ballot vote was made after the disbandment of the town’s police department last August.

Ballots have been collected since March 6, with the final tally announced Tuesday at the start of the Select Board meeting at the Town Office.

On the first ballot, 234 people voted to designate coverage with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, while 88 favored reestablishing the Mexico Police Department.

On the second ballot, 205 people voted to designate 24-hour coverage with the Sheriff’s Office, with 92 favoring 18-hour coverage.

Following the announcement of the vote, the Select Board gave unanimous approval to have Town Manager Raquel Welch-Day contact County Administrator Zane Loper on Wednesday to begin working on a contract. She said the goal is to have this contract in place on July 1.

Asked about who else would be involved in the contract negotiations, Welch-Day said the Select Board would be “just like you would with a union.”

With this vote, Welch-Day noted, “we will be organizing all (police) equipment to put out to bid.”

During an information meeting held March 4 at the Town Hall, Oxford County Sheriff Chris Wainwright talked about what the town would be getting with their coverage.

“If you guys opted for four deputies, which would be 24-hour coverage, a deputy in town 24 hours a day, it probably would be 12-hour shifts. If you chose for three deputies, then from midnight to 3 a.m., we’d have a deputy on call, and from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., we’d have a deputy on call but for the 18 hours, there would be somebody here,” he said.

The initial offer from the county for 24-hour police coverage was $630,795, which included four deputy rotations with 12-hour shifts. Wainwright said a contract with Sheriff’s Office would be for one year and renewable every year.

Wainwright added that they have four deputies who live in Mexico already.

Wainwright said the sheriff’s office would not only supply the deputies, but if one of them got sick or injured, another will replace that deputy. Other deputies would be supplied as needed, as well as detective services, and mutual aid from neighboring Rumford. All of that would be at no extra cost.

He said that with 34 officers, they are currently fully staffed. By contracting with the county, Wainwright said, the transition would be incremental as they would need time to hire the three or four additional deputies.