By Kristen Levine

In a unanimous decision, the Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday to opt into the proposed Statewide Mutual Aid and Public Works Mutual Aid agreements.

    Under Massachusetts General Law, the agreements will enable Lunenburg to access aid from over 100 communities opted into the program.

    “I’ve surveyed other neighboring cities, and they have or are in the process of adopting [the program],” said Town Manager Kerry Speidel.

    The popularity of the agreements is focused entirely on the ability to not only request, but also supply aid to communities when needed. While the request fulfillment is completely voluntary, Statewide Mutual Aid and Public Works Mutual Aid can be viewed as goodwill outreaches to neighboring communities, building strong ties to encourage prompt aid in the future.

    Lunenburg Fire Chief Scott Glenny and Lunenburg Police Chief Dan Bourgeois both stated their whole-hearted support for the programs.

    “Using 9/11 as an example, people from all over the country wanted to go to New York to offer aid,” Bourgeois said. “This same scenario can be addressed in Massachusetts. If we did have a catastrophe, we could call to the whole state for additional police aid. Under the program, incoming police could have equal powers and jurisdiction in Lunenburg if they need to detain [suspects] or perform arrests.”

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