By Katherine Ullmer
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Copyright 2007 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.
KETTERING, Ohio — Montgomery County Sheriff Dave Vore, speaking at the Jan. 17 Kettering City Council meeting on the proposed Montgomery County 911 Regional Dispatch at Kettering Fairmont High School, touted the possible cost savings and technological advantages of having a coordinated regional system and countered criticism of the existing sheriff’s dispatch system not being responsive to citizens’ needs.
He cited specific examples in which dispatchers had taken the time to talk someone out of a suicide or walk them through a life-saving process.
He said he realizes it may be hard to make people feel they have ownership of a regional program, but a policy board made up of representatives from all the jurisdictions to be served would help with that issue.
He tallied up a list of communications technologies currently in use by the sheriff’s dispatch center and said recent upgrades will make it even better.
Contacted later, Vore wouldn’t say how many communities have decided to consider the regional center. He said his office isn’t handling the letters of intent jurisdictions have to send in by Wednesday to participate in the initial planning, that they won’t be tallied until after Feb. 1, and that he didn’t know who’s handling the matter.
“It’s not material until February 1,” he said.
Not every community had taken official votes by the end of last week - some planned to vote this week - but most had formed opinions.
At a recent joint meeting between Centerville City Council and the Washington Twp. trustees, the trustees, who already contract with the sheriff’s office for police services, said they plan to look into the regional center, while Centerville officials said since their communications technology is more advanced, joining might be a step back.
Brookville and Germantown are on board and “were in the negotiations with me before this whole thing started,” Vore said.
Miamisburg City Council passed a resolution Jan. 16 to continue with the process, and Miami Twp. said last week it had a resolution of intent ready to pass this week.
“We want to opt in for the purpose of seeing where it’s going,” Miami Twp. administrator Greg Hanahan said, adding that they have their own dispatch center, recently updated with $300,000 worth of improvements.
In the fall, the township and Miamisburg began talking about how they might enhance their fire service with limited resources, even to possibly bringing the two fire departments together, he said.
“We have lots of redundancy but there are areas in both communities that don’t have good coverage,” he said.
Sharing resources regionally could benefit them, especially if everyone were on the same CAD (computer-assisted dispatch) system and could dispatch each others units when needed, Hanahan said.
His concerns are that the cost savings of a regional system haven’t been shown yet. Quality of service and “allowing communities to keep their identities,” are also important, he said.
Vandalia, Englewood, Huber Heights and West Carrollton are among those who don’t plan to join the regional dispatch, at least at this time.
Vandalia doesn’t believe a regional dispatch would be in their best interest, said Vandalia Police Chief Doug Knight. Its public safety members are crossed trained and perform records keeping tasks, he said.
“Council believes we will continue to do what we are doing,” he said.
“We’re not interested in joining at this juncture,” Englewood City Manager Eric Smith said.
The city just upgraded its dispatch system and believes it “exceeds what we can get from the sheriff’s department,” he said.
If everything happens at once, the process could be overwhelmed, so it should be done incrementally, he said.
Englewood operates its own regional dispatch for the Butler Twp. Fire Department and city of Union police and fire departments, plus its own police and fire, and doesn’t expect much cost savings by joining, he said.
Huber Heights participates in a multitude of regional programs but doesn’t believe participating in the regional dispatch would be in the best interests of the community, said Huber Heights City Manager Catherine Armocida.
The sheriff’s plan is entirely different from recommendations in the GeoComm study commissioned by the Dayton Regional Network and the Greater Dayton Mayor’s and Manager’s Association, she said.
“It’s more like contracting with the sheriff to provide services to the city,” she said.
Every jurisdiction wouldn’t be included and have an equal vote, she said.
Participation fees are only guaranteed for the first three years, so the fear is, “there would be a huge spike in the fees” after that, Armocida said.
Huber Heights’ calculations showed “revenues would fall short,” and she questions “how shortfalls will be made up,” she said.
Her concern is, “they want us to buy in today and the plan’ll be worked out later.”
Huber Heights spent more than $1 million in tax dollars over the past decade upgrading its own communications center and the GeoComm study showed “we’re very modern and well-equipped,” she said.
Also, dispatchers and police officers in Huber Heights work as a team “and that would be lost,” along with “the personal service you do receive,” she said. “Our goal is to maintain our current level of services.”
A group of about 75 Kettering-area residents showed their opposition to the regional dispatch by marching outside Kettering Fairmont High School on Jan. 17 before the Kettering City Council’s meeting.
Tim Azbill, of the Citizens Against Regional Dispatch, called the proposed regional dispatch “a bad idea. It doesn’t pass the common sense test,” he said. “Imagine coping with all the residents in Montgomery County when you call 911. Our dispatchers have 15-plus years of experience. When seconds count, you need experience.”
“Dispatchers already have a hard time getting onto the air waves,” said Bruce Abrams, vice president of the Kettering FOP, Lodge 92, among the marchers.
With more people, “you’re going to overload that system,” he said. “This size of a decision needs to be made by the people, with all the facts.”
“I don’t believe it’s a good fit, based on the information we’re being provided, for the community and our citizens,” said Jim McGrath, Kettering firefighter/ paramedic. “It takes the personal service out of the community.”
Kettering residents got a chance to talk to the individual presenters and other city and county officials at tables in the hallways outside the recital hall after the 90-minute presentation.
“Our city voted it down,” said Ginny Himes, a police dispatcher for West Carrollton, who came to support the protesters. “They (city officials) need to listen to what the people tell them,” she said.