Groton - If Groton were new and had no government yet, maybe planners could set it up with one police department.

But it’s not, and the community’s had three departments for so long it won’t change, town councilors concluded after more than an hour of discussion with city officials Tuesday about a 2013 police study.

Town Councilor Joe de la Cruz said it’s time to work within that structure and try to save money. He compared having three departments to the high tide that keeps him from crabbing.

“I can hate high tide all I want, but it’s not going to change,” he said.

Town Councilor Genevieve Cerf said merging the departments would be culturally impossible, like telling three families: “From now on, all three of you, all sets of kids, are going to have one mommy and daddy, and (we’ll) get rid of all of the other mommies and daddies.”

Councilors had gathered to discuss the results of a $49,000 study of Groton’s three police departments by the Police Executive Research Forum. The study recommended merging some services and estimated it would cost the town about $1.9 million to take over police service in Groton City and about $27,000 to assume responsibility for Groton Long Point. Town councilors indicated they might use those figures when budgeting money to the subdivisions for the coming fiscal year.

But representatives of both subdivisions said the study data was wrong, inconsistent and unevenly applied. Findings were also wrong, both said.

“I think these reports are somewhat cooked,” said Town Councilor Rich Moravsik, who lives in Groton Long Point and formerly served as its public works director. Groton Long Point needed more than $200,000 annually for years to pay for police, so providing it for $27,000 makes no sense, he said.

City Mayor Marian Galbraith cited data errors on page after page, and said they were based on incompatible budget figures between the town and city, and data for one year in which the city had an unusually low number of officers on staff.

Town Councilor Bruce Flax said he didn’t understand where the mistakes came from and how they occurred.

The consultant “wasn’t operating in a vacuum,” Flax said. “He went out and asked for information and either he got the information or he didn’t.”

But Galbraith said the report was wrong and the city would not accept less police service.

At one point, she indicated Groton City might take legal action.

“We can go through court routes, down the road, but we haven’t had to do that,” she said.

For years, there’s been a “tradition” that the town paid 50 percent of costs for subdivision police departments, Galbraith added. But the court might view the arrangement differently, she said.

City residents pay property taxes directly to the town, and some of that money funds town police.

If the city didn’t pay anything for town police, then the town wouldn’t have to pay anything for city police, Galbraith said. She said she hoped the town wouldn’t walk away from the tradition.

City Councilor Larry Gerrish, who served 40 years in the city police department, said he never heard anyone complain about the service. “The three police departments that we have seem to function quite adequately,” he said. “And if it’s working, if it’s not a problem, why try to fix it?”

Like the city, Groton Long Point pays more in taxes for town police than it gets back in service from that department, Moravsik said.

Perhaps the various sides could take “baby steps” in a small group and rebuild trust, Town Councilor Harry Watson suggested.

Moravsik said the town should keep the police study, use the correct numbers and clean it up.

Councilor Deborah Peruzzotti said the small group could try to find common ground.

“The tension is just crazy and it’s just, it’s just unhealthy for all of us. It really is,” she said. “There has to be something that we can agree on. We’re all adults. We all want the right things.”

Town Mayor Rita Schmidt said maybe a group of six come up with something.

Galbraith said she had to talk to city leaders about the small group idea before agreeing.

“We will wait to hear from you,” Schmidt said.

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim