East Hampton Town Completes Transition Of 911 Call Answering To Police Department Dispatch Center

EAST HAMPTON, NY — The Town of East Hampton said Monday that it has formally completed the transition of primary 911 call answering to the East Hampton Town Police Department dispatch center.

As of 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Suffolk County Emergency 911 Coordinator and Emergency Communications Director Mike Postel facilitated the official cutover of primary 911 call answering from the Village of East Hampton to the town, officials said.

In coordination with Suffolk County, Verizon, and Motorola, all incoming 911 calls from landlines located within the Town of East Hampton, outside of the Village of East Hampton, are now routed directly to town police headquarters. Landline calls originating within the Village of East Hampton and Sag Harbor Village will continue to route to village dispatch. All incoming 911 calls from cell phones will be answered by the town, officials said.

The town has additional staffing and supervision in place and looks forward to working collaboratively with its emergency response partners to continue to ensure professional and timely call answering and emergency dispatch services for the community, town officials added.

Effective February 1, the town will assume responsibility for dispatching fire and EMS calls for the Sag Harbor and Springs Fire Departments. The town has held extensive meetings with fire district personnel and has ongoing communication with dispatch leadership to ensure continuity throughout the transition, officials said.

Renovations and technology upgrades to the town’s dispatch center are expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez reflected: 'I could not be prouder of the town team that made this happen. When someone calls 911, they are counting on us in a moment that feels overwhelming. Residents will notice no difference when they call 911. A trained dispatcher will answer, and help will be sent right away. Thank you to our dispatchers and town public safety staff, Chief Michael Sarlo and the police department, and Suffolk County for doing the careful work behind the scenes to keep this transition smooth and keep emergency communications running without interruption every day."

"We are extremely proud of the work done by our senior dispatch supervisors, Chief Dispatcher Steve Blanchard and Deputy Chiefs Ruth Dodge and Harold Steve Graham, as well as our Network Communications Specialist Eddie Schnell throughout this process," East Hampton Town Police Chief Sarlo said. "Along with our senior staff, we remain committed to working directly with our fire and EMS partners, as well as village dispatch supervision to make sure 911 calls are answered and dispatched efficiently and effectively. All of our public safety dispatchers deserve credit for taking on these new responsibilities and embracing their role."

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