FLOYD COUNTY — Floyd County decision makers will propose an interlocal agreement to the New Albany City Council Monday that calls for the merger of county and city dispatch centers.
By combining services and housing the 9-1-1 call stations under one roof, the county and city could eventually realize a cost savings and offer better service to the community, Floyd County Commissioner Steve Bush said.
He met Tuesday with Mayor Doug England, Floyd County Council President Ted Heavrin and Sheriff Darrell Mills to discuss the plan. It was one of a series of meetings county and city officials had during the past month in regards to the potential merger.
Bush and other county leaders recently toured a combined city and county dispatch center in Hendricks County, as new federal mandates are requiring government entities to reduce the number of 9-1-1 stations in counties by 2014.
“They do a great job with it,” Bush said at a recent county commissioners meeting.
Floyd County Attorney Rick Fox has formed an interlocal agreement proposal to be circulated among city and county leaders for review. Following Tuesday’s meeting with England and county officials, Bush said there’s many benefits to merging dispatch centers.
“I think in the long run what we’re going to do is streamline our services,” he said.
Before the meeting, England said a possible location for the new center could be the downtown New Albany fire station along Spring Street. The proposal will have to be reviewed by the administration and city council to determine how it will benefit New Albany, he added.
“I’m receptive to anything that’s going to make communication better in our county and also save money, because we’re duplicating services now,” England said.
The city spends about $800,000 annually on its emergency communications service, England said. Bush estimated the county’s cost for 9-1-1 dispatch to be between $200,000 and $300,000 a year.
Bush and England acknowledged the cost savings would not be immediate, as the entities would need to purchase updated equipment and install technical infrastructure at the new center before it’s launched.
But in 2012, England said expenses could start to be reduced from employee attrition and a decrease in overtime pay.
He said merging the dispatch centers could “reduce [New Albany’s budget] deficit by quite a few hundred thousand dollars.”
The city is on track to incur about a $1.8 million shortfall this year as a result of fire, police and communication’s expenses.
Lives could potentially be saved with a combined dispatch center, Bush said. England and Bush confirmed there have been multiple cases of an emergency call being made to the wrong dispatch center.
“If the county gets a call for something that involves the city, the response time would be a lot less” with a joint dispatch station, Bush said.
He said time is of the essence, as the New Albany Fire Department has a grant that expires next year that could fund some of the initial expenses of a merger.
Bush said county and city leaders will also approach the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County and federal agencies to try and obtain additional grants.
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