SOUTHWEST HARBOR – A proposal to create a special Hancock County drug enforcement team gained more momentum Wednesday when selectmen unanimously endorsed the plan.

Sheriff William Clark developed the proposal after more than 200 Southwest Harbor residents called for tougher action against drug dealers and users during a May 29 forum.

The initial forum led to a second public meeting in Ellsworth about escalating drug abuse problems in the county.

County police departments explained to the concerned residents that they did not have the resources to dedicate an officer solely to drug enforcement.

The three-person drug enforcement team would investigate drug cases and work with law enforcement agencies throughout the county.

“Something has to be done and this is a good first step,” said Selectman Lyle Dever.

Under the proposal, which Clark hopes to include in the 2004 county budget, three police departments in the county would each give up a seasoned officer to join the team, working under the direction of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency in Bangor.

The town departments would continue paying their officers, while the county would reimburse the three communities for hiring new officers to fill the vacancies.

Clark estimates the first-year cost at $200,000.

Dick Dimond, who helped organize a response to residents’ call for action, told selectmen Wednesday that the cost could decrease in subsequent years.

But Weldon “Bunny” Leonard, who sparked the entire effort when he demanded selectmen do something about the problem, particularly heroin use, disagreed.

Leonard predicted that the special drug task force would be successful and would cost more in the future, not less.

Selectman Skip Wilson noted that in the first year the task force would cost Southwest Harbor taxpayers an extra $3 a year in taxes on a house valued at $100,000. “It might ease someone’s mind to know someone is out there looking after us,” he said.

Dever said he wants a progress report from the task force, should it ultimately be approved, showing activity in the first year and cooperation among county police departments.

Dever said he is concerned that local departments will stop all drug enforcement and rely only on the task force.

Drug dealers move around from town to town, according to Southwest Harbor Police Chief David Tims, so the task force might investigate a dealer in Ellsworth who has ties to other communities.