Middletown to Move 911 Call Center to the County

Middletown, NJ - Starting April 15, all Middletown 911 calls will now be routed through the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office in Freehold, Middletown Township announced Tuesday, as the township is shutting down its emergency call/dispatch center.

Approximately 15 Middletown 911 dispatch employees will lose their job in the transfer. However, most, if not all, of those employees will be rehired by the county as dispatchers, Anthony Mercantante, Middletown's Business Administrator said.

Those employees can re-apply for a position with the county's 911 call center, provided they first pass an exam, and are willing to commute to Freehold, he said.

"We have to lay those positions off almost as a formality," Mercantante said. "And once they start working for the county they will get a significant pay increase, in the range of $10,000 to $15,000 more than we pay here."

The Sheriff’s Department’s handles 911 calls for the majority of Monmouth County towns, 46 out of 53 towns in the county. Middletown's 911 call center, located at Town Hall, will remain operable as a back-up system. There will be dispatchers at the county facility who are designated just to take Middletown calls, the township said, because Middletown is such a large geographic area within Monmouth County.

The township says the move will save Middletown nearly $1 million annually, which local officials say will go towards keeping taxes down.

The bulk of those savings will come from Middletown no longer having to pay the salaries of those 15 dispatchers, the township said.