The Wilton Select Board has approved an updated mutual aid agreement with Jay and Farmington, part of a regional effort to modernize police partnerships and clarify liability and training responsibilities among neighboring departments.

Farmington Police Chief Kenneth Charles said Nov. 4 that he initiated the update after discovering that prior agreements were no longer reflective of current leadership.

“I recently located records of mutual aid agreements between Farmington Police Department and our adjacent law enforcement agencies,” he said. “Those agreements were outdated with 100% turnover in Chief Law Enforcement Officers for all agencies.”

He added that leadership changes extended beyond the police departments themselves.

“The municipal officers have likewise experienced turnover, all since the existing agreements were approved,” Charles said. “It seemed prudent to update and seek approval by all parties.”

Charles contacted Jay, Wilton, Rangeley, Carrabassett Valley, the University of Maine at Farmington Police Department, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. “I have not heard back from Carrabassett and the Sheriff’s Office,” he said.

At Jay’s Nov. 10 Select Board meeting, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said the pact largely formalizes long-standing practice.

“This agreement is between Jay and Wilton and it’s largely what we’ve always had,” she said. “The piece that’s really changed was the field training program, one of the recommendations was we find ways to work together more, and so that was added.”

LaFreniere said the joint training program is expected to bring significant benefits to both departments.

“Use of FTOs (Field Training Officers) from both Departments will allow each of us flexibility in being able to train our new officers in a more effective manner,” she said. “We will have more flexibility with scheduling, more opportunity to capitalize on specific skills that each FTO may have, be able to target learning needs of new recruits, provide for consistent standards of training across our departments and also promote interagency cooperation.”

LaFreniere credited the Wilton-Jay Police Department Collaboration Committee with identifying the enhancement.

“The joint Wilton-Jay PD Collaboration Committee was integral in recommending the Field Training Program Collaboration,” she said. “They recognized the collaboration between the departments as being a very achievable immediate step that the two towns could take to capture efficiencies and provide a better service for both our employees and our municipalities.”

The board unanimously approved the agreement and authorized the town manager to update similar agreements with other communities.

COLLABORATION IS KEY

While the agreement does not substantially alter emergency operations, Charles said it reinforces important legal and administrative protections.

“Capabilities and coordination are not greatly affected by this initiative,” he said. “Clarification of liability responsibilities for damages, injuries, and actions are reaffirmed.”

He said true readiness comes from continuous collaboration outside of crisis events.

“Emergency response capabilities and coordination are improved separately by collaborative information sharing, mutual training events, and equipment sharing,” Charles said. “We cannot operate in silos.”

LaFreniere said officers in both towns are already accustomed to working together.

“Our departments already communicate regularly so this is not something that is new to them,” she said. “Previous (pacts) have laid the foundation for continued cooperation.” She added that “the various agencies in Franklin County, and beyond, consistently provide mutual aid to benefit all of our communities.”

Charles said Farmington must prioritize its own taxpayers while acknowledging that regional challenges require regional cooperation.

“My planning, budgeting, oversight is primarily with regard to the town of Farmington,” he said. “It would be naive to think we can operate in silos without overlapping training and sharing of resources.”

Charles noted that rural departments face many of the same pressures as urban agencies, just with fewer resources.

“We may live in what we find to be a rural area but we are not immune to challenges surrounding substance use, mental health, traffic volume, homelessness, poverty, domestic and sexual violence, and a myriad of other societal issues,” he said. “These are proportional to our population and geographic area while disproportionate to our resources.”

Maintaining local identity while strengthening regional ties is essential, he added.

“I think it is important to maintain our identity as the law enforcement agency serving the town of Farmington while fostering collaborative relationships with other local law enforcement agencies and reciprocate the relationships,” Charles said.

Looking ahead, LaFreniere said Jay expects to maintain and update its other mutual aid agreements as personnel and leadership change.

“The Jay Board authorized us to continue updating those agreements as needed to assure that they are current,” LaFreniere said. She said that as “Boards, Chiefs, employees, etc. change over time it is important for us to maintain the agreements and assure that everyone is aware of the contents and in agreement.”