Officials Will Hear Details of Proposed Pascack Valley Dispatch Center

Washington Township officials continued discussing shared dispatch services Monday, which they have been investigating for more than a year. The council and will now hear details of a separate plan for a Pascack Valley dispatch center.

Township councilmen said they did not have information about the proposed Pascack Valley dispatch center Monday, which would operate out of the former Old Tappan police headquarters and would include six municipalities. Emerson, Hillsdale, Old Tappan, River Vale and Westwood officials had all agreed to spend $500 to explore how such a center would work.

Township Mayor Janet Sobkowicz said that after learning about the exploration plan, she too authorized spending $500 for study. She said because Police Chief Randy Ciocco was away, she didn't have additional details, but said there would be a meeting Thursday that she and Council Vice President Steve Cascio would attend that would clarify the plans.

Cascio, who has been working with the county on a shared dispatch service plan, said he was made aware of the alternate plan by a reporter. He added that the estimates he received from the county and Northwest, another dispatch center in Ridgewood, cost the township nothing.

Councilman Joseph D'Urso said he thought it was "inappropriate" that members of the council learned about the proposed Pascack Valley dispatch center through the newspapers. He also questioned why the township should participate in the study when Cascio has already provided information from the county, which has a state-of-the-art facility.

"Why are we wasting our time on a study?" D'Urso asked.

Sobkowicz said the study would provide additional information, such as the initial setup costs and the recurring expenses, and would provide another alternative for officials to investigate.

Council President Fred Goetz questioned the timing of the Pascack Valley proposal, which came to light after the county draft was brought forward. Washington Township has been investigating using the county facility with Hillsdale and Westwood.

Cascio said he had no problem hearing the alternative plan, but said he doubts a facility as good as the county's in Mahwah could be established.

"I just don't see how they can possibly get something going in six months where it took the county almost four years to build that complex with state-of-the-art equipment," Cascio said. He added that the county facility is already up and running and has been for more than a year.

Councilman Richard Hrbek said he thought creating a separate dispatch center with six municipalities would be a very costly endeavor that would hold greater uncertainty than choosing the county's offering.

"There's tremendous value added when you're working with the county because of their extensive resources that they have available," he said. "You're not going to get that going somewhere else."

Cascio said he would attend the meeting Thursday and report back to the council with the information.

"In good faith we're going to look at it," D'Urso said. "But I really think the savings is in the county."

The next township council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 1.