Three residents have volunteered to serve on the Greenfield study committee that will explore the issue of police regionalization.
Residents Jim Plourde and Sheila Nichols said at Wednesday’s Select Board meeting that they would be willing to serve on the study committee, as has Bill Brooks, who could not be at the meeting. The prospect of combining departments with neighboring Hancock has been discussed in both towns, and the study committee will make a recommendation.
“No community is untouched by the decline in the number of officers available,” said Select Board Chair Tom Bascom, adding that the State Police continue to have a significant number of positions open and towns larger than Greenfield are offering significant sign-on bonuses to attract applicants.
It was further noted that the department could have a difficult time filling the position of chief when current Chief Brian Giammarino retires, and that finding part-time officers is particularly difficult, as the Part-Time Police Academy was closed down during COVID, resulting in a lag of graduating classes.
“The goal would be to have a recommendation for next steps by January 2026,” Bascom said. “This would allow the select boards in Hancock and Greenfield the ability to put warrant articles into Town Meeting. If the committee recommends investing in a larger study, a warrant article would be needed to appropriate the necessary funding.”
The town is also referring to the contract between Temple and Greenville, which share a police department, for a sense of the process, and to reports from a study group that looked at regionalization of the departments in the towns of Bath, Lisbon and Lyman.
Town Administrator Aaron Pratt said he will reach out to Hancock about a meeting between the two town’s committees.