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municipal budget blog
03/24/09
Regional dispatch plan advancing
Cape Elizabeth will likely consolidate its public safety dispatching with the cities of Portland and South Portland.
Police Chief Neil Williams and Fire Chief Peter Gleeson outlined a plan to the Cape Elizabeth Town Council Finance Committee at a meeting March 19, 2009.
The Finance Committee, a committee of the whole council, is reviewing Town Manager Michael McGovern's recommended municipal budget for 2009-10. A major part of that budget is a recommendation to consolidate dispatching services, with current projected savings of $127,000 annually.
Williams said that regionalizing dispatching will enable enhanced service in the years ahead. He said that a single local dispatcher has a difficult balancing act - providing emergency medical information to the caller, while at the same time sending equipment to the scene. Further, during times of multiple calls and storm emergencies, it is challenging for one dispatcher to do it all.
Currently, non-mobile 9-1-1 calls from Cape Elizabeth go to Portland. Consolidation will eliminate the need to transfer calls.
Williams said that consolidating with the two cities is a much better alternative than the suggestion to merge with the Cumberland County Communications Center in Windham. He and Gleeson cited the mutual aid that is already provided between Cape Elizabeth and South Portland. The fire stations at Willard in South Portland and the Cape Cottage Station on Shore Road now provide service to both communities. South Portland assists with paramedic intercepts on some rescue calls heading to Portland hospitals. Radio communication is already established between the communities. Animal control in Cape Elizabeth is provided by the South Portland Police Department. The technology that will be available to police officers in their vehicles will give officers far more information than is available to them today, Williams said.
Cape Elizabeth, which presently does not have computers in police cruisers, has received a grant to provide four laptops to be tied into the Portland/South Portland software. Williams also said that he believes that the partnership will have access to grants that Cape Elizabeth alone could not access.
Both chiefs expressed strong respect and appreciation for the work done by Cape Elizabeth's four local dispatchers. Williams said you could not ask for more dedicated employees, yet consolidation provides real benefits to the community in terms of both service and cost savings. The chiefs said that there are current openings for dispatchers in Portland/South Portland and in Scarborough, and an opening for a full-time administrative assistant who will assume the dispatchers’ clerical duties at the Cape Elizabeth police station. Dispatchers with seniority may also displace employees in other municipal positions for which they qualify. Severance packages will be offered to employees who leave as a result of the consolidation, and to those who accept a lower paying position with the Town.
Members of the Finance Committee questioned if there would be transition costs for equipment and technology. Williams explained that a $75,000 homeland security grant, secured in 2006 to pay for enhanced communication connections with South Portland, must be spent by June 30, 2009 or will be lost. The grant, together with the laptop grant, will pay for the capital costs associated with the transition.
The current estimated savings from the consolidation is $127,000 annually.
Portland and South Portland have indicated that a contract for the consolidation will begin at $16 per capita and increase approximately 3 percent each year. The county offer was $16.22 per capita.
At the March 19 meeting, and at a subsequent meeting on March 23, five of the seven town councilors expressed support for the plan. Chairman Jim Rowe said he could not support the consolidation at this time, because in January 2008 the council had voted to support a recommendation of the town manager to “affirm that it is the current policy of the Town Council to continue with a local dispatch center through July 1, 2011 at which time a further review is encouraged.” Rowe said he did not wish “to go back on my word.” Councilor Penny Jordan said on March 19 that if she had to vote that evening, she would not vote to regionalize dispatching.
Discussions are continuing with Portland and South Portland on implementation and contractual issues. The Town Council will hold a public hearing on the annual budget on April 13.
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