WATERVILLE -- City councilors on Tuesday voted to renew contracts for emergency and fire dispatch services with five area towns.

The 7-0 vote means that the Waterville Regional Communications Center at the Police Department will dispatch for the towns of Albion, China, Sidney, Belgrade and Rome for at least another year.

The city charges $4,865, $10,265, $8,785, $7,445 and $2,450, respectively, to those towns. The cost is based on a $2.50 cost per resident.

The city has dispatched for the town of Clinton since 2007, but that contract does not come due until next year. The other five towns came on board after Clinton.

The city also dispatches for Oakland and Winslow for $30,000 each, as well as for Delta Ambulance, for $20,000. Those costs are based on percentage of calls, and the city has no formal written contracts with the towns, according to City Manager Michael Roy.

"Is that something we should look into?" Council Chairman Dana W. Sennett, D-Ward 4, asked.

Mayor Paul LePage questioned whether the cost being charged to the towns covers the city's cost to dispatch.

"I'm all for this, but what concerns me is the city's actual cost appears to be greater than what we charge back to the community," he said.

The city hired an additional dispatcher when it took on more area towns. Roy said he thought the city's cost for that dispatcher, including benefits, was about $48,000. Police Chief Joseph Massey said that number might be a little high. Roy said he and Massey would check the exact salary and benefit cost for that dispatcher, as well as total revenue, and get back to LePage and councilors with those numbers.

LePage said he thought the formula for charging customers for dispatch services should be the same for all.

"It should be direct pass-through for everyone and not have different formulas -- that's all I'm really trying to say," he said.

But Massey and Roy said all the towns are not staffed the same way; for instance, some have part-time fire departments and some dispatch for some services and not others. The Oakland and Winslow police departments are staffed during the day but not in the evening, when Waterville takes over.

"There are a lot of variables that go in there," Massey said.

In other matters, Roy surprised Peter Joseph, 86, with the Spirit of America Award for his many years of service to the community. A member of the Waterville Safety Council for 43 years and chairman for the last 29, Joseph said he appreciated the award.

"I was born and brought up in Waterville, and Waterville has always been my city and I always put my all into it," he said.

His family and friends stood in the back of the room and applauded with the others as Joseph received the award.

Amy Calder -- 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com