One of the first thing that kids learn is that sharing is a virtue.

But when you divide the state into about 450 cities and towns, each with their histories, peculiarities and ideas about how to do things, getting local governments to share their experience and resources can be hard — even when it affords the opportunity to save money and improve service.

That’s why we’re excited to see officials in Hallowell, Manchester and Farmingdale give cooperation and collaboration a shot.

Officials from the three communities will meet starting Monday in a series of “three-town summits” where they’ll discuss the possible merger of public works and fire departments, among other areas where they could potentially work together.

The meetings are the work of Hallowell City Manager Gary Lamb, who is right in saying that Maine is behind the curve on regional and multi-community collaborations — largely because of the high number of municipalities, the tradition of local rule, and the time it takes to bring coalitions together.

Public works and fire response are two great areas to start with. Nearly every community is facing a shortage of firefighters, putting adequate response times in jeopardy. Pooling resources could help communities make sure they can answer every call without trouble. In some communities, including in central Maine, such cooperation is already underway but could be improved upon.

And the cost reductions through cooperation on public works seems like a no-brainer. Even though Hallowell has the only full-time public works department among the three communities, it spends the least. It seems like working together in their case could lower costs for everyone.

But there are also other opportunities for cities and towns to work together to deliver services and lower property taxes. Solid waste and recycling could be one area, since in smaller towns it is rife with inefficiencies, though Lamb thinks even bigger.

“You could build a facility right now where two, three, or five towns could do all their conventional customer service transactions in one building — marriage licenses, register anything with an engine and all those things you come to city hall for, including paying taxes,” he told the Kennebec Journal last week.

Of course, municipalities already work together in some ways, including through regional groups such as the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, which offers resources and helps coordinate actions between its member communities.

But Maine should see more of it. As once-rural parts of the state have grown into suburbs, the cost of delivering municipal services has increased considerably, driving up property tax rates in areas where they were once very low. Multi-town organizations could counter that development by reaching efficiencies not available to single, small communities.

There are opportunities for Maine municipalities to work together on more than just the above-mentioned issues.

Regional broadband coalitions, such as is happening in the Midcoast area, can help overcome private internet providers whose product is pricey and who are unresponsive to the needs of the communities they serve.

A good public transit system, particularly in the rural areas of the state, requires large-scale cooperation, too, so that all communities are clear on the goals of the system and dedicated to reaching them together.

Communities, particularly those along the coast and rivers, should work together, too, on mitigating the effects of climate change as sea levels rise and threaten to overtake land. The climate crisis won’t follow borders, and our response can’t either.

No one town can do it all — especially when that town is one of just 450 or so. To answer the challenges of today and tomorrow, they’ll have to work together.

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