If Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator, Gov. John Baldacci may go down in Maine history as the Great Consolidator. The governor’s efforts to merge state departments, school administrative districts and jails are well-intentioned steps toward reduced government spending.

One area the governor has not yet suggested for consolidation is in law enforcement. It is an area in which counties could beat the governor to the punch, and structure a consolidation which suits them, rather than wait to see one imposed by the state. In theory, counties could save money and improve services. In the process of doing so, county government could step up its profile and role in civic life, and perhaps emerge as an intermediary body between state and municipal government.

Two separate but related developments in Waldo County highlight the need for a county-wide approach to law enforcement. A group of citizens in Lincolnville, a town of just over 2,000 people, located between Camden and Belfast, is petitioning selectmen to put a question to voters which, if approved, would eliminate the town’s police department. The police department has a full-time chief, and relies on several part-time officers, with an annual budget of $114,700. The cost is the primary concern for those wanting to eliminate the department.

The second development is the county budget proposal, up 9 percent this year, which towns perennially resist. Waldo County plans to spend over $1 million on law enforcement next year.

A possible solution to the dilemma of providing public safety services in an equitable way to county towns while containing costs is a countywide law enforcement agency, beyond the traditional structure of a sheriff’s department. Anne Beebe-Center, a Knox County commissioner, has noted that there are over 50 full-time law enforcement officers working in that county, with most employed at municipal departments in Rockland, Rockport, Camden and Thomaston. By pooling resources, she suggested, a countywide force could be formed to provide adequate patrols to all county towns, and also allow the creation of specialty positions such as investigators assigned to drug, domestic violence and detective duties.

Paying for such a law enforcement agency could be assessed, at least in part, on the basis of population, not property valuation. Gaps in coverage could continue to be handled by state police officers, who already patrol each county. Coastal municipalities including Rockland, Camden, Ellsworth, Bar Harbor, Machias and Calais may be reluctant to give up the responsiveness of their local police departments, but efficiencies in administration and a regional response to regional crime may be more attractive.

Ms. Beebe-Center believes counties could consider taking on other services, such as providing property assessment and tax collection for municipalities; solid waste management; handling cable TV franchise negotiations; providing regional land-use planning and offering centralized purchasing.

In this climate of consolidation, counties may provide a compromise solution, improving services and saving money.