North Stonington - The North Stonington and Preston boards of selectmen held a joint meeting last week to discuss opportunities for regionalizing services between the towns.

The boards "determined (that) there was a great similarity between the towns" and their governmental structure, said North Stonington First Selectman Nicholas Mullane.

Mullane said they left the 90-minute meeting with a plan to form a joint committee to explore possible areas of cooperation, including sharing an ethics commission, dog pound or fire marshal, among other things. He said the committee would consist of four volunteers from each town who do not currently hold town office or sit on boards or commissions.

If the two towns do collaborate and all goes well, Mullane said, they will consider inviting Voluntown or other similar municipalities to join them.

A shared ethics commission seems like a viable starting point, Mullane said. Currently, Preston has a commission but North Stonington does not. A joint commission, he said, would allow North Stonington residents to investigate Preston complaints and vice versa, reducing the potential of biased judgments.

First Selectman Robert Congdon could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The next joint meeting of the Preston and North Stonington Boards of Selectmen will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 in North Stonington. Selectmen will review a draft charter for the proposed joint committee and decide on the appointment of members from each town.

k.catalfamo@theday.com

Twitter: @kccatalfamo