Paul Ferland, the shared chief of the Monmouth and Winthrop police departments, has proposed the departments merge. The departments have been operating under Ferland’s leadership since the summer of 2023. Above, the police stations in Winthrop, top, and Monmouth on Monday. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

WINTHROP — In an open letter to residents posted last week on Winthrop’s website, Paul Ferland, the shared chief of the Monmouth and Winthrop police departments, wrote that the two departments should merge.

The departments have been operating under Ferland’s leadership since the summer of 2023.

Chief Paul Ferland

Ferland wrote that without action to further consolidate, Winthrop and Monmouth run the risk of having to close one of the police departments because both have struggled to recruit and retain staff members.

“I am convinced a full consolidation of both agencies into a single police department would benefit both communities,” Ferland wrote in the letter. “All police demand in each community are looked at as a single function of the departments as a whole, and jurisdictional boundaries become invisible.”

Ferland, who was on vacation Monday and not available, wrote in the letter that the consolidation would allow the combined department’s leaders to better supervise officers and optimize staff scheduling, reducing overtime and ensuring at least two officers and a supervisor are on duty at all times.

Winthrop Town Manager Anthony Wilson said the police departments already work together often, and the merger would be the “next logical step.” He said Ferland raised the idea of a consolidation during his one-year performance review, saying he wanted to get the merger done before he retires.

Wilson said many Winthrop police officers struggle to take vacation time because other officers are often forced to work overtime or be called back on duty.

In a combined police department, Winthrop’s detective would also be able to investigate crimes in Monmouth, a situation that now requires the Monmouth Police Department to take one of its on-duty officers off regular patrol duties, sometimes for long periods.

“Combining departments alleviates that pressure, to some extent,” Wilson said.

The Monmouth Police Department staff is smaller and the pay scale is lower than many other nearby departments, making it particularly vulnerable to collapse, Ferland wrote in the letter. He pointed out that Mexico was forced to “idle” its Police Department in August after long-term staffing shortages, a situation he said “could easily happen in Monmouth,” if not for its dedicated, stable staff of officers.

Ferland said Winthrop police officers are paid slightly more than in Monmouth, but benefit packages are lagging behind the area average. An officer who joined the Winthrop Police Department recently was making $3 per hour more than in his previous position, but the department’s benefits package in Winthrop meant the officer was taking home less pay.

The merger would require both police departments to equalize pay and benefits, a process Wilson said would likely begin when the departments enter into collective bargaining this spring with officers and other staff members.

“If we are to continue to have local police protection, we as a community must focus on the recruitment and retention of officers, on what will attract them to come work in our two towns and what will keep them here,” Ferland said.

Winthrop and Monmouth have formed a committee to discuss the merger. It includes each town’s manager, a member of the Winthrop Town Council, a member of the Monmouth Select Board, a member of each community and leaders from the police departments. The committee met for the first time in October, and is to gather again Dec. 10.

Wilson said the departments would combine no earlier than the summer of 2026. Monmouth residents would have to approve the change at a town meeting, and Wilson said both towns would prefer to merge at the start of a fiscal year to simplify the budgeting process.

“We want to make sure we’re methodical and careful,” Wilson said.