01/10/07
Cape's emergency 9-1-1 calls will be answered in South
Portland beginning Jan. 30
Beginning Jan. 30, emergency 9-1-1 calls made from Cape Elizabeth will be
answered in South Portland.
The Town Council on Jan. 8 conditionally approved an agreement with the City
of South Portland to use its Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) facilities
and equipment for responding to 9-1-1 emergency calls.
The agreement fullfills Cape Elizabeth's part of a state mandate to consolidate
the number of PSAPs in Maine from 48 to 24 or 16.
While consolidation is expected to save funds statewide, Town Councilor Anne
Swift-Kayatta called the mandate an example of shifting costs from one government
entity to another.
With $7,270 estimated start-up costs for the program, plus $11,288 annual
fees for Cape Elizabeth to share South Portland's facilities and personnel,
consolidation will cost Cape Elizabeth more than $18,000 in the first year,
Swift-Kayatta said.
"I think that we need to realize this is all extra cost, above and beyond
what we do now to provide these services," she said. "There are no local
savings coming from doing this," Swift-Kayatta said.
The annual cost, as outlined in the agreement, represents capital expenses
including annual license fee, $1,200; cable modem charge, $1,020; and, fee
for services of $9,068. The fee is is $1 per Cape Elizabeth capita, based
on 2000 census data.
Initial hardware costs to Cape Elizabeth will be $5,670 for an initial software
license, and a $1,600 computer firewall for Cape Elizabeth dispatch.
Town Manager Michael McGovern said the Town will mail notification to Cape
Elizabeth residents informing them of the agreement and redirection of 9-1-1
calls to South Portland. Cost of that mailing will be $1,450, he said.
On the bright side, Swift-Kayatta acknowledged that consolidation will likely
result in some enhancements in service, something she would be pleased to
see. In general she said she favors regionalization, and will vote for the
PSAP agreement because it is mandated.
The Town Council will be further looking into consolidating dispatching services
with a neighboring community or with Cumberland County. One of the council's
goals for 2007 is to review the feasibility of consolidating dispatching,
and to receive a cost/benefit analysis on the potential options.
As Cape Elizabeth's PSAP, the South Portland Public Safety Communications
Division of its police department will perform all functions, duties and
responsibilities of a public safety answering point and transfer all calls
or requests for emergency public safety service originating from Cape Elizabeth
to the Cape Elizabeth dispatch center.
The approval is conditioned upon the town attorney's OK of an indemnification
clause, protecting South Portland from legal claims that may be brought against
it in implementing PSAP duties for Cape Elizabeth.
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