Residents and Dispatchers Fight to Keep Gulfport Police Dispatch

Fighting back tears, Communications Officer LaKeisha Isaac shared first hand why the Gulfport Police Communications Center is an irreplaceable and invaluable asset to the city.

"I had a little girl many years ago, come to the front door at 3 o'clock in the morning, saying that her mother was being beaten up and I asked her what her address was and she didn't have a clue, she said I live over there . . turns out that she lived across the street from what at the time was Circle K . . . I let her into the door, she came and sat in dispatch with me, and I held her hand and kept her calm, and I got her the people that she needed. I don't know if you can get that anywhere else," Issac said.

Isaac, who has been with the department for nearly 15 years, asked the council to consider keeping the police dispatch, citing concerns over response times and personal assistance.

"I have had the pleasure of speaking with alot of people in this room, though they may not know me by face, I know them by voice," Isaac said.

"I just ask that, you really really think about not just the numbers, but the people. We're not just numbers, we are people and personally we care for the city, we provide a lot of services in Gulfport dispatch that I can assure you that the Sheriff's Office will not."

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Communications Officer Frank Wheelehan has more than 16 years with the Gulfport Police Department Communications Center and says combined, all four employees have more than 55 years experience dispatching for this city.

"If a person was to call and say I see a fight occuring . . .  a person being beaten up at the skate park, we would know where it is, would a Sheriff's Dispatcher know, no, they will not."

"Dispatchers save seconds and seconds save lives, you are looking at a permanent solution to a temporary problem, I suggest you think long and hard about the service that you want to provide to the citizens of Gulfport."

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The Gulfport City Council has been discussing outsourcing the police dispatch center to save money for the past four months. During Tuesday night's meeting, the people voiced their concerns during public comment concerning budget workshop recommendations.

There was no vote about the dispatch center. For now, it is still being considered one of several cost-saving measures for the 2012 Fiscal Year Budget.

There is a budget workshop scheduled on Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 3:30 p.m at Gulfport City Hall. Public hearings are set for Thursday, September 8 and Wednesday September 21, 2011 at 7 p.m. at Gulfport City Hall.

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Several Gulfport residents also spoke up at Tuesday night's meeting about their reasons for keeping the center.

"A life is worth more than $200,000 dollars, the difference between having your own dispatcher and having it go to county, those minutes mean life, whether it's a baby or an elderly person or anyone who's choking to death."- Rosalie Roz Barbieri

"Although it's not advertised, it's bettter to call 893-1030 than 9-1-1, they will get there, they're quick. But, this safety comes at a cost, and having our services in house, and the personal control over them is a luxury we pay for. We want those services, thus the control over them. We want to control our own quality of life." - Mary Karbowski

"By outsourcing you may save money, but you're going to reduce the quality of service that citizens have enjoyed for decades, and you will be throwing away four valuable employees."- Ernie Stone

"In the past year, I was headed out of town . . I saw this gentlemen beating his girlfriend up. I called the Sheriff's Department because I was told that's their area. They kept me on the phone for 45 minutes. 'What are they doing now?' 'Where are they?' They had me following this young couple and they didn't show up for an hour and I don't think that's what we want in Gulfport." - Jeri Reed

"I can sum this up real quick, I don't see one person up here that wants to do any of this. I do agree it's a hard job. So, your job is not to decide if you want to cut someone else's job, put them out of work. You're real important job is to come up with a solution to afford it. - James Vice

To view the entire meeting online, check out the city's website. The video will be added sometime today.