BIDDEFORD — Many communities around the state are in the midst of determining their budgets for the new fiscal year beginning July 1. Biddeford and Saco are among them, and this year a number of tough decisions must be made as officials try to balance providing the services residents expect without increasing the burden on property taxpayers.

On Thursday, at North Dam Mill, city staff and elected officials from both sides of the Saco River broke bread and discussed potential ways they could work together and save money for both communities.

Biddeford’s Mayor Joanne Twomey was eager to act on ideas right away and see if savings could be found in the new budget year.

Saco Mayor Roland Michaud was more cautious and said it was important to take the time to create the proper structures when combining operations.

He noted the police and fire departments of Biddeford and Saco have a long history of cooperation, which works out well for both cities.

Merging dispatch services for police, fire and rescue was one of the areas discussed that seemed most promising. In fact, Biddeford Police Chief Roger Beaupre and Saco Police Chief Brad Paul said they plan to meet next week to further investigate the idea.

Having Biddeford take over dispatch for Saco has been discussed for a number of years. However, some on the Saco side have concerns about giving up their dispatch service.

“It makes perfect sense to me,” said Biddeford Police Chief Roger Beaupre. He said when he built a new dispatch system at the Biddeford Police Department several years ago he anticipated eventually expanding service to other communities, for a contracted fee.

Beaupre said he charges communities using the Biddeford’s dispatch service $16 per person. Even with this fee, he said, Saco could save as much as $300,000 to $400,000.

Saco Police Chief Brad Paul said he wasn’t sure the savings would be that great, but he was interested in getting an accurate estimate of the cost savings.

Biddeford Fire Chief Joe Warren said he endorses a combined dispatch. The Biddeford and Saco fire and rescue departments work together almost daily, and Warren said he thinks the relationship would work better with combined dispatch.

“We agreed a long time ago to change our operations so they’re more alike than different,” he said. “Dispatch is the one thing holding us back.”

Combining the cities’ dispatch services would improve safety and efficiency as well as save money for both, said Warren.

Combining dispatch will decrease delays and improve rescue service, agreed Saco Fire Chief John Duross.

Combining finance departments was also discussed.

Although sharing one finance director seems impractical at this time, other ways of working together were noted, like using the same coding to allow the cities to share clerks.

Investigating whether savings could be reaped from combining some of the cities’ insurance policies was another suggestion from Saco Finance Director Cheryl Fournier.

A number of communities have shared assessing departments, said Saco City Council member Marston Lovell, and the twin cities could potentially do the same when the Saco assessor retires.

“We use the same software,” he said, “sharing assessors is not uncommon.”

“I’m very encouraged by what happened tonight,” said Biddeford City Councilor Patricia Boston. She said she hopes it will spark more areas of working together to save on overhead costs.

“If we leave here tonight and nothing happens, it’s a shame,” said Biddeford City Councilor Raymond Gagnon.

“I enjoy getting together,” said Saco Mayor Michaud. However, he noted, the close working relationship between the Biddeford and Saco fire departments didn’t happen overnight.

He’s interested in pursuing cost savings between the two communities, said Michaud, but “I don’t think we did much to save money this year.”

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 324 or dmendros@journaltribune.com.