By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY — Montgomery Township officials are finalizing plans to turn over all of its emergency dispatch duties to the county in the spring, a move they say will not impact response time for 911 calls.
The shared-service agreement, planned to take effect April 1, would save the township $600,000 a year, according to Mayor Louise Wilson. The move comes among a series of cuts and layoffs the township committee has made over the past several weeks as it struggles to balance its 2009 budget.
Despite the tremendous savings, it was not a decision made lightly, Mayor Wilson said.
”We would not undertake it if we felt it were putting any of our first responders or, of course, our residents at any risk,” she said. “The dispatch service will not be a diminished service.”
The township’s emergency dispatching is currently funded only through June 30, Township Administrator Donato Nieman said. The township’s current staff of four dispatchers will be laid off, he said.
When the changeover goes into effect, 911 calls made from landlines within the township will be directed to the Somerset County Office of Emergency Management, said office director Leroy Gunzelman. The office already handles fire dispatch for the township, he said.
The Board of Chosen Freeholders offered the county’s dispatch services to townships as part of a shared-services initiative, he said. The county currently handles full emergency dispatch for five towns, and another five towns, apart from Montgomery, are in talks with the county to join, he said.
The changeover will not result in a delay in response time for Montgomery Township 911 calls, he said.
”There’s really no down time; it’s just a different location where the call’s being answered in,” he said.
In order to effect the changeover, the county will upgrade its software and train its 25 dispatchers so that they are familiar with the township, he said.
The county’s current technology is “at least two generations” behind the township’s, Mayor Wilson said. The county’s agreement to upgrade its service was essential in the township’s decision, she said.
”We were not willing to make this change without absolute certainty that the county would purchase, install and train its dispatchers on a much more sophisticated and integrated dispatch system,” she said.
The Township Committee anticipated the changeover would happen last year, but it was halted after it was decided that the county’s level of service was determined to be insufficient, Deputy Mayor Cecilia Birge said.
But with the upgrades, “we felt that now, arguably, the service provided by the dispatcher in regard to 911 services is going to be comparable to what we provided at a local level,” she said.
But it would be “disingenuous” to suggest that service to residents will be identical, she added. The loss of the township’s four emergency dispatchers means there will be no presence at the Municipal Building or police station after hours, she said. A nonemergency call to the Police Department would be directed to the county, she said.
Montgomery police Capt. Robert Palmer said an objective of the changeover is to prevent the Police Department from becoming insulated from the community.
”In all likelihood, there will be some public information initiative that will be a companion component to this initiative so people still know how to get ahold of the Police Department for business-related issues,” he said.
The current emergency dispatch system is “not ideal,” he added. It is understaffed at four dispatchers instead of six, frequently requiring police officers to fill in, sometimes in overtime hours, he said.
Mr. Wilson said these positions were not refilled as the township was considering the changeover. The estimated cost-savings estimate assumes a full staff of six dispatchers, which would be required to continue the service by the township, she said.
The changeover will also require a security system for the Municipal Building and police station for after hours, Capt. Palmer said.
This and other facilities upgrades will cost about $100,000, Ms. Wilson said. The changeover is expected to save the township over $200,000 this year, she added.
