PRESQUE ISLE – A state task force looking at Maine homeland security issues was impressed Friday by the cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in Aroostook County.

Rep. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick and House chairman of the Maine Legislature’s Homeland Security Task Force, said Sunday that Aroostook County officials took care of many border security questions before they became issues of security.

He said the task force’s public hearing also showed that, like in the remainder of the state, there are communications problems. Some agencies can’t speak to each other because of inadequate technology, much of it old.

Staff shortages and technology issues were raised by many people addressing the eight-person task force at a six-hour meeting at Presque Isle City Hall.

“I don’t think I see the task force developing any emergency legislation for the present session,” Gerzofsky said Sunday. “There will be areas, like communication, that need to be looked at, and that will be the legislation brought to the next regular session of the Legislature.

“We have communications problems in the state, and we know that,” he said. “We hear about it at every meeting, and we heard about it at Presque Isle.”

Gerzofsky said the state is in the process of revamping its system, and towns will have to follow suit. Communications will be discussed further, the representative said, at a meeting Friday in Bangor.

By next Friday, the task force will have held eight public hearings throughout the state. The eight-person committee then must decide what will be done with all the information it gathered.

The task force has been looking for gaps in the present system of operation. In Aroostook County on Friday, it was looking to hear about rural issues and border crossing issues.

Maine has a 600-mile border with two Canadian provinces -New Brunswick and Quebec. The eastern Maine border is more populated, and there are more ports of entry than along the more forested western border.

“I was impressed with the way people in the rural areas rely on each other,” Gerzofsky said. “They are on top of border security, although there seems to be discrepancies in manpower along the eastern and western borders.

“They have worked out scenarios between the [U.S.] Border Patrol, Maine State Police and local police,” he said. “Some of the things we learned were quite inspiring.”

Presque Isle Police Chief Naldo Gagnon raised the issue of communications problems. Part of the issue, he said, is technology, and part of it frequency management.

He said most of the communication problem is within his own city, communicating among departments, which could be crucial during emergencies.

Federal Border Patrol agents have increased their staff fivefold in Maine since September 2001.

The task force is looking at homeland security needs within Maine, including but not limited to local law enforcement, emergency preparedness, public health, and port and airport security.

It is reviewing programs in place in Maine and will develop priorities for changes.

Two more meetings are scheduled by the task force, one at Saco City Hall at 3 p.m. today and the other at Bangor City Hall at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13.