HARTFORD, Conn. -- Towns in Southeastern Connecticut are talking about joining forces to share the cost of public safety.

By uniting individual police forces, towns can share the cost of important services; however, the same leaders who are for it said they will not give it a green light until they’re sure it will pay off.

One of the mayors supporting the proposal said merging is not about just saving money. In fact, he said savings come second to improving public safety.

Montville Mayor Joseph Jaskiewicz said, “The economic times have forced many New England towns to talk about regionalization.”

Jaskiewicz teamed up with the mayor of Ledyard and the first selectman of Preston to talk about combining police departments.

Montville and Ledyard both have 23 town officers and a resident state trooper, but Preston has no local officers, just one resident state trooper.

All three leaders said they like the idea of combining forces, which would mean more officers would be available and the cost could be shared.

According to officials, they have all formed a committee to explore the pros and cons and will release a feasibility study next month.