Countywide dispatch plan could save millions

Jan. 06--BARNSTABLE -- Local officials were briefed Thursday on a regional emergency dispatch study that could save Cape towns millions of dollars.

The study, funded by a $135,000 state grant through the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee, investigated potential savings Capewide by using one consolidated dispatch center or with multiple regional centers.

The Cape currently has 13 public safety answering points -- dispatch centers that take emergency 911 calls -- serving 15 towns. The Barnstable County Sheriff's Communications Office provides answering and/or fire dispatch services to 10 fire departments. Chronic municipal budget shortfalls and the impending implementation of mandatory medical training for dispatchers are driving the statewide move away from town dispatchers to regional dispatch centers.

Town officials contacted Thursday said they were still studying the report, but believe it advanced the discussion on how to provide better service while saving money.

It's foolish to think local departments can continue to provide dispatch services as they do currently, especially beyond the Orleans Rotary in the winter.

"The call volume is just not there," said Eastham Police Chief Edward Kulhawik.

The optimal solution would include two dispatch centers, said Lisa Weinthal, vice president of Intertech Associates, the company that authored the 98-page report.

Although the biggest estimated savings, $5.8 million out of the current $10.6 million countywide dispatch costs, come from using a single consolidated dispatch center, Weinthal said that having two fully staffed centers provides a necessary backup should a storm or other emergency black out one facility. It also addresses a desire by some agencies to have a separate governance structure to oversee dispatch services, she said.

The two-hub model could save more than $4.5 million, according to the report.

With nearly 70 percent of Cape departments employing a single dispatcher per shift, there is a risk that multiple duties, like clerical work, handling walk-ins and overseeing prisoners, may hamper responses in an emergency, according to the report. Regional dispatch centers provide a professionally trained staff focused solely on emergency calls.

Kulhawik and Brewster Police Chief Richard Koch say they're worried that the savings analysis didn't take into account the value residents place on the nonemergency calls made to the police station, especially when other town departments are closed.

"People have come to expect that know-your-neighbor kind of service, especially seniors," Kulhawik said.

The savings under the regional approach would not necessarily trigger a reduction in municipal staffing, Weinthal said.

Personnel who fill those roles, however, would not need the same training or experience as a full-time dispatcher, she said, adding that local resources could be allocated differently if dispatch was done regionally.

As local officials grapple with a July deadline to provide dispatchers with emergency medical training, many of them are already talking to the sheriff's office about taking over the service, Barnstable County Sheriff James Cummings said.

Wellfleet's dispatch services will be routed through the sheriff's communications center starting Jan. 21, and Eastham has begun talking with his office about the service, he said.

The sheriff's office is willing to take part in more formal oversight of a regional system, Cummings said, but he balked at the formation of a nonprofit as called for in the Intertech report.

"I don't think we need anything to that extent," he said.

There is already a loose governance structure in place, Cummings said, referring to contracts his office has with the towns and related meetings about mutual aid.

He said some departments are bound to dislike handing over more control.

"There will always be those turf battles," Cummings said. "Some people are not willing to give anything up yet."

'Wishful thinking'

Barnstable Police Chief Paul MacDonald said there appears to be more support for three dispatch centers based on the Lower, Mid- and Upper Cape than for the recommended two-hub model.

If a regional system professionalizes the dispatch position and saves money, it would certainly prompt a closer look, MacDonald said.

The level of anticipated savings, however, appears to be "wishful thinking," he said.

The savings estimates provided in the Intertech report are only intended for discussion purposes and actual savings would be based on a variety of factors, Weinthal cautioned.

For some local officials who already have their dispatch services handled by the sheriff, staying put makes sense.

"As a customer of the sheriff, I don't see myself going anywhere else," said Mashpee Fire Chief George Baker, chairman of the Barnstable County Regional Emergency Planning Committee.

The sheriff's dispatch center also provides the Centralized Medical Emergency Dispatch, or CMED, service that connects hospitals to incoming ambulances. The service is part of the regional proposal, but that doesn't change the ongoing debate over who pays for it, Baker said.

Cummings announced several years ago he could no longer afford to provide the service for free and in October started charging towns and the hospitals $13 per call.

The Intertech report, which calls for the formation of a committee comprised of two police chiefs, two fire chiefs, a CMED representative, a sheriff's communications center representative and a county representative, is now in the hands of local officials who must decide the next step, according to Baker and Weinthal.

"The purpose of these kinds of studies is to look for the best way to proceed," said Eastham Town Administrator Sheila Vanderhoef. "We're looking for a better way to do what we're doing and that really is the goal here."

Copyright 2012 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.