Winter Harbor and Gouldsboro, two municipalities that share the Schoodic peninsula, also share many services. There’s now one consolidated school on the peninsula, when there used to be two. All essential services, including police, fire and EMS, overlap and that trend has accelerated in the years since the nearby Navy base closed down.
“When Winter Harbor has a fire call, Gouldsboro responds, and when Gouldsboro has a fire call, Winter Harbor responds,” said Gouldsboro selectman Jim Watson.
But the two towns maintain their separate social infrastructure, and each must ask for compensation from the other for the service overlaps. One longtime Gouldsboro resident, Roger Bowen, noticed this trend and wrote letters to the editor in the Bangor Daily News and the Ellsworth American with a simple idea: Why not merge the two towns into one, thus saving money and streamlining local government on the peninsula?
The suggestion has set off a heated debate in local newspapers, both for and against the move, and some on the peninsula view Bowen as a dangerous man just for suggesting it. Bowen seems nonplussed by reactions to his letter; it was exactly the kind of public debate he hoped would occur.
“I don’t think [the criticism] is in any way personal,” he said. “My attempt is to initiate a conversation.”
Letters to the editor can often be seen as the harmless refuge for the crackpot, but Bowen’s credentials and argument are compelling. He’s an esteemed political scientist and a longtime Gouldsboro resident who is very active in the community. Bowen serves on the boards of the local private library, the Schoodic Area Futures Committee and the Gouldsboro planning board. His wife is also very involved in the community.
“We love the area, we love the people,” said Bowen. “This is home to us.”
Bowen began to argue for municipal consolidation after sifting through figures and discovering that Gouldsboro has four times the population of Winter Harbor, yet spends only twice as much on government. It enjoys an efficiency of scale that Winter Harbor lacks. A merger, he estimated, would save Winter Harbor residents some $1.25 million immediately in reduced infrastructure projects, and would save both municipalities money in the long run.
“The larger the town, the less cost to the individual,” said Bowen.
Bowen says many have thanked him for raising the question. He has also picked up an ally of sorts in Winter Harbor selectman Ben Newman. Newman said he couldn’t be more opposite than Bowen in political beliefs, but he feels the University of Maine professor is onto something. He’s watched the two towns struggle to resolve fair reimbursement for cross-border EMS calls, and he’s aware that Gouldsboro and Winter Harbor buy from the same distributors. He believes the two towns should find a way to integrate more economically while still maintaining their separate identifies.
“It’s just obvious,” Newman said. “Fuel, paper, copies, pencils, it’s all common sense. If we all purchased together, there would be a decreased price.”
But even he doubts such a plan will ever be voted for in his lifetime. Winter Harbor and Gouldsboro share a complicated history and have forged their own separate identities. Winter Harbor seceded from Gouldsboro more than a century ago. According to some historical sources, many in Gouldsboro were not sorry to see Winter Harbor go.
Consolidation also would have some unique hurdles. Gouldsboro is in the black and has been aggressive in keeping its taxes low, said Watson. If the town were to take on Winter Harbor, it would surely mean a tax increase for Gouldsboro residents, Bowen said. Also, Winter Harbor’s government has been supported by the establishment of a private endowment, and it’s unclear legally if that endowment could be transferred.
Many peninsula residents share Watson’s view that Bowen’s idea is not only unsound but dangerous.
“I don’t think he has a feel for the area he’s living in,” Watson said. “He has really upset the people of Winter Harbor”¦and he’s going to upset the people of Gouldsboro. And hopefully, he’s not going to upset the relationship of the two towns because of it.”
The wild card in these discussions, however, is the economic anxiety that has permeated U.S. municipalities. Watson said there is no chance of consolidation, but he then admits he said the same thing about school consolidation.
“I never thought we’d see the day of RSUs,” Watson said. “So who knows what might happen?”
Craig Idlebrook is a freelance writer living in Somerville, Massachusetts