Lakewood Politicians In Spat Over Alleged Regionalization Comment

LAKEWOOD, OH — Regionalization — the condensing of municipal offerings into a single regional service — has been at the heart of a simmering political controversy in Lakewood this week. The topic has drawn public comment from the mayor, mayoral candidates, councilpersons and the chief of Lakewood's fire department.

The controversy started when Ward 1 council candidate Laura Rodriguez-Carbone wrote a post on Patch on August 14 saying she has heard talk of regionalizing Lakewood's emergency dispatch services. "Managing safety in Lakewood is a major function of our city government and we should be looking to support and expand our team of dispatchers, not outsource services and put Lakewood's families at risk," she wrote.

Mayor Michael Summers issued a rebuke of Rodriguez-Carbone, saying her statement was misleading. He summarily dismissed her claim of possible regionalization saying, "No plans exist, no discussion has occurred. Other cities may be contemplating this, but not Lakewood."

Rodriguez-Carbone updated her statement and then implicated another Lakewood political candidate, Sam O'Leary, a candidate for mayor, as the source of regionalization discussions. During a meeting with the Fraternal Order of Police, Rodriguez-Carbone wrote, O'Leary said he would be open to working with other communities on a regional dispatch service.

That statement was worth debating Rodriguez-Carbone said.

While O'Leary did not respond to Patch's request for a response, he did post on social media denying portions of the allegation. "What I told the FOP, and what I've told voters when I'm knocking on doors every night, is that if the State of Ohio or the county were to force regionalization of emergency dispatch, I want Lakewood's dispatch center to be the area leader that other west side communities could turn to for their services," he wrote on Facebook.

Is state mandated regionalization a possibility in Lakewood? Fire Chief Scott Gilman said yes.

The state previously passed a law limiting the number of "public safety answering points" (dispatch centers, effectively) per county. Cuyahoga County lags behind other parts of the state in instituting this law, but regionalization efforts have been undertaken throughout the region.

Gilman said that he has never been part of any discussions on regionalization, though it may eventually be forced on Lakewood by the state.

"If we were looking at regionalizing, would we have invested in our own dispatch center?" Gilman asked. The answer, he said, is no.