Robert Carroll, Jr., is a member of the Public Safety Committee and the father of a Rescue captain. He'll need to collect 15 percent of Gray's registered voters by November 16 in order to get the issue on the June ballot. Depending on how many voters register for next Tuesday's election, he could face the task of gathering 900 signatures in less than two weeks.

The Town Council estimates that transferring dispatch operations could save $100,000 a year; critics maintain that the savings would be much smaller, and rescue services could suffer.