Paramus To Take 911 Calls From 3 More Towns

Paramus will enter an agreement next year that will earn the Borough about $8,000 in exchange for fielding the 911 calls of three nearby municipalities.

Under an agreement approved by the Council on Dec. 13, Paramus will serve as the public-safety answering point for Ho-ho-kus, Upper Saddle River and Saddle River.

The three towns currently use Mahwah as their PSAP, but a price hike led them to shop around.

Chief Christopher Brock told the Mayor and Council that the agreement would only result in an 8% increase in calls for service for the department's communications center.

"We can take on that additional 8% with no additional staffing whatsoever," he said.

Increasing the Borough's service area might also make it easier to compete for certain grants, aside from making money, Brock added.

Paramus already serves as a PSAP for seven other towns: East Rutherford, Hillsdale, Midland Park, Palisades Park, Rochelle Park, Tenafly and Wyckoff. Most of the 911 calls the communications center handles are from Paramus.

Through November, the communications center took 58,507 911 calls in 2011, 51% of which were from Paramus.

The agreements with the three towns will earn the Borough an extra $8,007 when they take effect Jan. 1. Ho-ho-kus is paying Paramus $2,119, Upper Saddle River $4,248 and Saddle River $1,640.