To the editor:

There has been a lot of talk about the merging of the Hamilton and Wenham police departments lately.

Most of the talk has been from Hamilton residents, in particular from a group called Enough is Enough (of which, from what I can discern, every board member is a Hamilton resident). Hamilton would be the one to benefit, not Wenham.

As a resident of Wenham I see a lot of problems and questions coming with such a merger:

Which individuals presently on the Hamilton police force can be trusted?

We know those who were involved in the EMT training fraud; how do we know those not publicly named were not, in fact, involved? The bad apple taints the whole barrel.

I know this is a very touchy subject, but I point this out because a police department is a law enforcement organization, and when they break the law, whom can we trust?

Big corporations engulf smaller corporations every day. In doing so, supposedly, the larger corporation benefits economically and in other ways; the smaller corporation disappears!

What will happen if (or when, as some people would have it) the Wenham and Hamilton police departments merge?

Chief Walsh of the Wenham Police Department will probably take the position of deputy chief (likely without a reduction in salary). Neither department has a position of deputy chief today. This is economical?

Several of the current police officers will be let go, most likely the majority of that group will be Wenham officers. (Why would the controlling entity, the larger entity, Hamilton, reduce its force?)

A Hamilton-Wenham Police Department will be, in large, part, controlled by Hamilton!

That is simply the political facts dictated by resident ratio. (The same thing would happen if the two towns merged.)

I respect the residents of Hamilton. But human nature drives one to protect one's own and to say, "To hell with the other guy!" And, that is just what is happening here: Certain individuals, be they Hamilton residents or selectmen, only want to resolve their own problem; and if that results in causing others a problem, let the chips fall where they may.

Where do the alleged half-million dollars-plus in savings come from?

I have been advised this is a figure tossed out by those who want to see this merger come about.

Those involved in developing Wenham's budget feel the savings will be more like a tenth of that or $50,000.

Hamilton Selectman Carey and Wenham Selectman Swartz have come up with a savings of maybe $150,000 for Wenham. But that figure does not include many police department expenses; so, even that figure must be reduced.

No one has even brought up the strong possibility that Wenham might be on the hook to the tune of $90,000-plus per year for the debt service on the new Hamilton Public Safety Building.

Meanwhile Wenham still has to put money out to pay off the bond for our own new police station, a building that will then become vacant and unused. (Having been designed and built specifically as a police station, it would be difficult sell or lease it for any other purpose, especially in today's economy.)

Most of these people pushing for the merger study are interested in one thing — the potential for savings, which they could then apply to the school budget.

First, let's get the fat out of the school budget, beginning with reducing the superintendent's and other administrative salaries.

What will a combined police force, with the reduction in the number of officers available to the two towns, specifically in emergencies, do to the standard of safety that we, in Wenham (or in Hamilton), currently enjoy?

With a reduced force the towns would not have the manpower to confront and safely resolve some emergency situations such as a violent confrontation in one of our schools such as we've seen in other parts of the country.

With the increase in the towns' populations will come an increase in traffic violations and accidents. Presently, if there happens to be two serious accidents occurring relatively close to each other time-wise, we have the availability of two separate responding units with sufficient manpower to handle the situation. With a combined police force, and the corresponding reduced manpower, the ability to handle two serious events at the same time becomes extremely questionable.

Quoting from the Tuesday, Aug. 11 edition of The Salem News regarding the Hamilton police EMT scandal, "The agency began investigating training records of the Hamilton Police Department after Officer Michael Marchand, who is involved in a dispute with the town, blew the whistle on the rogue program. After he told selectmen and nothing appeared to be happening, he turned to the state."

If one is to believe this statement, and I have not heard, nor seen, anything to the contrary, why are we dealing with the Hamilton Board of Selectmen, a board that appears, in light of recent events, to be inept?

Further, it has lately come to light that the Hamilton selectmen have had "closed door meetings" to discuss certain members of the police department, relating to the EMT scandal, without first notifying those individuals. This is a blatant disregard of state statutes concerning meetings of public officials.

Further yet, the town of Hamilton has a pending $5 million lawsuit against it as a result of its handling (or not handling) the EMT scandal and there may be others to come. If Wenham buys into this merger, the town might be on the hook for part of any monetary damages awarded.

As I see it, now is not the time for Wenham to be considering a merger of its police department with Hamilton's.

Michael A. Scoglio

Wenham