Regional 911 Center Coming To Foxboro, Mansfield, Norton, Easton

FOXBOROUGH, MA — A regional emergency dispatch center for Foxborough, Mansfield, Norton and Easton will open later this year and could be operational by late summer, according to officials. The Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Emergency Communications Center at High Rock Road in Foxborough is expected to improve police and firefighter response times and save the four towns more than a $1 million a year, the Sun Chronicle reported.

The regional center is estimated to cost $6 million and an additional $2 million for computer equipment. State officials have encouraged cities and town to create regional facilities by offering grants. This district was awarded $3.5 million in state grants to help cover the costs. Groundbreaking on the facility was scheduled to begin in March.

Foxborough and Mansfield last year began a trial run on regionalization in summer 2019 when the two towns began sharing dispatch responsibilities out of the Foxborough Public Safety Building. Mansfield's new public safety building was built with regionalization in mind, and the trial run has saved Mansfield about $150,000, according to town officials.

For more on this story, check out the Sun Chronicle.