County to Field, Transfer 911 Calls

Montville first responders told the Township Committee on Tuesday—as they have before—that changing their radio system to work with the Morris County Communications Center would be a step backward for emergency services in Montville.

After hearing their concerns, the Township Committee unanimously scratched a proposal to contract with the county to handle all of the town's dispatching services, but went ahead with a plan to have the county screen Montville's 911 calls and forward them to Montville dispatchers. The county also will provide emergency medical dispatching, officials said.

The change will add an extra step in the police dispatch process, but Ronald Cain Jr., chairman of the Pine Brook Board of Fire Commissioners, said it should only take seconds.

Officials did not know when the agreement would be in place.

The Township Committee considered the options as ways to save money. Contracting with the county for 911 services will allow the town to avoid potentially costly upgrades to its current system—estimated at $250,000 in the coming years—and will allow the police department to eventually eliminate a captain position through attrition, Police Chief Richard Cook wrote in a report recommending the 911 switch. Cutting the captain position would save about $180,000 a year.

The town would pay about $20,000 for the county service. The town currently spends $15,000 for its own service, so the net increase to the town would be $5,000, Cook said.

Using the county for all dispatching would have allowed the department to eliminate four civilian dispatchers, the equivalent of two police lieutenant dispatchers and some of its maintenance costs—a total of $705,000—Cook wrote, but the town would have incurred high capital investment costs for the new system, which would have cost $418,473.

Cain said shifting to the county dispatch service would have been a "monumental" change in Montville's three fire departments, first aid squad and police operate.

"It works for us and works well. Why would you want to go back 30 years in time?" he said.

Ed Watters, president of the Montville Township First Aid Squad, said the current system has the benefit of allowing off-duty first aid volunteers to hear calls, enabling them to respond when warranted.

"I would say this is not something you want to screw around with," he said.

Mayor Jim Sandham said he wasn't willing to risk switching to a system that might not be compatible with the town's existing equipment.

"As much as I'd like to save the money, I'm not willing to take that risk," he said.

From the chief's report:

ELIMINATION OF 911 ONLY

The county will provide 911 services only for Montville Township. The cost associated with this would be $20,000 per year. This cost would be offset by the fact that our yearly maintenance for our 911 system is approximately $15,000. Net cost for the County to provide this service will be $5,000 per year. The County would receive a 911 call and transfer it to our communication operators. They would then dispatch police fire and EMS. The County would then remain on the line with the caller. By eliminating 911 and the installation of a phone prompt message we could see significant decrease in calls to the desk. This decrease should result in the Lieutenant being freed from desk duties while the dispatchers would remain on the desk by themselves. Sworn personnel would only have to fill in for vacation, sick and meal breaks. Negative impacts to the community would be minimal. People entering headquarters would still have access to a communication operator. General police question can still be handled over the phone. By removing the Lieutenant from desk duties they should be free for additional administrative responsibilities that could mean the elimination of one sworn personnel, a Captain at the price of $180,000 per year.The Township would also avoid a planned upgrade to the 911 system, which is expected to cost $250,000 in capital upgrades in the coming years.

RECOMMENDATION

It is my recommendation that we not pursue full County dispatching at this time due to the large capital cost associated and the negative impacts to public service that will come with County dispatching. The Fire Departments and First Aid Squad also have concerns regarding this proposed move and have voiced opposition to it. By only doing 911 the Township would only have a net cost of $5,000 dollars. The Township will still be able to provide the full level of service that our residents have received and are expected to receive in the future. The additional savings can come from the elimination of a Captain's slot at a cost of $180,000 and moving those duties and responsibilities onto the Lieutenants.