ORRINGTON – For more than a year, town leaders have been exploring options for providing fire and ambulance services to the community and on Monday opened the discussion to include hiring coverage from another community.

Selectmen said while they have no plans to hire an outside agency to provide fire and ambulance coverage, they wanted to explore all their options before making any decisions.

Selectmen have considered combining the town’s volunteer fire department and volunteer ambulance service organizations into one municipal department with one chief that would oversee the new division. Such a move would improve efficiency, officials said.

“We believe this is the right thing for this community,” Chairman Paul White said to kick off the discussion of the combined department. “It’s very evident that we need to do something. We’re going to look at several different options, including outsourcing.”

An option on the table for discussion includes hiring Brewer Fire Department to cover the community. White said he asked Selectman Howard Grover to discuss the issue with Brewer Fire Chief Rick Bronson, who created several alternative options for Orrington.

“He came back with a menu of proposal that we can pick and choose from,” Grover said.

The proposal, which is for discussion only, offers Orrington several coverage options for the fire department and ambulance service including one that would provide the town with free rescue services, if Brewer is allowed to answer all of the community’s ambulance calls.

By going with Brewer, the town would be provided with a fire inspector, a public safety officer and fire educator, as part of the deal. Selectmen were given Brewer’s informal proposal at the meeting and said they needed time to review the information.

Even though town leaders discussed the issue of outsourcing, the board also reassured Fire Chief Michael Spencer and Brian Smickle, chief of services for the ambulance service, that their volunteer crews need not worry about losing their positions.

“For me, personally, there would have to be an overwhelming reason to go to Brewer” before that option was selected, White said. “I believe if we’re going to take this to the community we need to provide them with more than one option.”

Selectmen approved a fire and rescue department ordinance in August 2003, which was then presented to residents at the annual town meeting in November. At that meeting, several firefighters threatened to leave the force if the department was formed.

“I think pretty much the heartburn. … was that the town government, i.e. the Board of Selectmen, would be making decisions with this department,” the chairman said.

At Monday’s meeting, both Smickle and Spencer said last year’s issues have subsided.

“I’ve told my people that this is going to happen,” Spencer said. “I don’t see the opposition being what it was.”

Also during the meeting, the property tax rate was set. It remains, for the third consecutive year, at $15.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.