Local officials have heeded the county’s call to approve a central dispatch proposal after more than 20 years of deliberations.
The town boards in Rotterdam, Glenville and Niskayuna recently approved the proposed central dispatch plan, in respective order, after momentum was created by the Schenectady County Legislature. The agreement will establish a Unified Communications Center, which would house all dispatchers in one building at an undetermined location. Several local officials touted the plan as a way to enhance safety while creating savings.
Schenectady County Legislator Antony Jasenski, who has presented the agreement to municipal officials, said the Duanesburg Town Board approved the plan on Thursday, July 12. The Princetown Town Board will vote on the proposal at its Tuesday, Aug. 14, meeting, according to Jasenski, which is the final approval needed.
Glenville was the only town that raised question of approving the plan, so county officials included two scenarios in the agreement — with or without the town.
The all-Republican Glenville board unanimously approved the plan, with some reservations, on Wednesday, July 18, after county concessions made the plan more palatable.
Glenville officials have voiced concerns with previous versions of the plan in recent years. County officials last August said the central dispatch plan would proceed without Glenville, but the two entered negotiations again.
“This has been a long time in the making and we have been on again, off again in discussions with the county,” Glenville Supervisor Christopher Koetzle said. “There are some things we have to take on faith. There are some things we think we were able to improve and make it a better proposal.”
Koetzle said having more authority given to the UCC Municipal Oversight Committee was an important change to the plan. The Oversight Committee will be comprised of supervisors and mayors from each municipality and contribution levels will weight voting. It will establish UCC goals and approve operational changes, purchases and staffing, along with developing the budget.
Niskayuna Councilwoman Julie McDonnell echoed Koetzle and said she was glad the committee was given more power over operations.
“The town oversight … will give us the assurance that we need to make sure that we maintain the excellent services that we have here and that our residents expect,” McDonnell said.
The oversight committee will also reassess the cost sharing models after operating for four years, which Glenville pushed for because town officials still are unsure its contribution is proportionally fair.
The central dispatch is hoped to be operational by January 2014, according to Koetzle.
Glenville Councilwoman Gina Wierzbowski said the notion the town was holding out for its own interest is somewhat misguided.
“I do believe deep down we had everyone’s best interests at heart,” Wierzbowski said. “We were the only one asking for changes and I believe that every municipality that enters into this agreement will now benefit from the things we asked to be changed.”
Wierzbowski said it would have been “irresponsible” for the board to approve the agreement presented two years ago.
Board member Sid Ramotar said the original proposal “made sense,” but just not for Glenville.
“I think we held out for the right reasons,” Ramotar. “Now, it does make a lot more sense.”
The plan is said to save Schenectady $195,000, Glenville more than $160,000, Niskayuna around $115,000 and Rotterdam nearly $160,000. The towns of Duanesburg and Princetown would pay a flat fee that increases annually for the first four years.
The cost sharing percentage would remain flat among Schenectady (46.91 percent), Glenville (19.74 percent), Niskayuna (14.16 percent) and Rotterdam (19.19 percent) for the first four years. Upon the fifth year, the cost sharing would be reevaluated based on figures from the first four years.
Schenectady County Legislator Anthony Jasenski, D-Rotterdam, said the plan would increase safety countywide because using one dispatch center allows for information to be known by all parties in an emergency situation.
McDonnell said safety enhancements are an important element of the plan in addition to projected savings.
“I am most concerned about maintaining our public safety in our town and our response times, of course our cost savings are wonderful as well,” McDonnell said.
Before the Niskayuna Town Board voted to approve the agreement on Tuesday, July 24, she said she was assured response times would not increase under the plan.
The Rotterdam Town Board approved the agreement on Wednesday, July 11. Supervisor Harry Buffardi after the meeting said “services would be consistent” along with helping balance the budget.
“It is a good way for the town to save money and it helps stay under the state mandated tax cap,” Buffardi said. “The idea of dispatching services is much different in the computer age than before when it was divided up into five to six different parcels.”
Several local officials also said dispatchers would have more of a career path at the centralized station, because there would be supervisory and management positions offered. Every currently employed dispatcher is offered a position at the new station.
The county pushed for an agreement after receiving a $1 million grant from the state to implement the plan that it set to expire in March 2013. Without the grant money, the county would completely fund construction of the Unified Communications Center or the rental cost of the center. Also, there would be $560,000 in dedicated 911 surcharge revenue from the county. The county would also provide up to $143,000 in transitional funding to maintain necessary staffing levels.
Koetzle hopes the collaboration on the central dispatch is part of a trend.
“It is an important first step in working together,” Koetzle said, “and hopefully it’s just the beginning of many things we can do together to help our taxpayers save some money.”
