Council: Resolution Not the Way to Get County Study Finished Quickly

The township has been looking into the possibility of joining a county dispatch program for almost four years now—and the administration was hoping to do something to end the wait.

But in a 3-2 vote Sept. 2, the council voted against a resolution to request that the county complete its assessment of a possible shared service agreement with the township for county police dispatch services.

"I am not convinced a piece of paper will speed up the process," Councilwoman Christine Henderson Rose said. "We are at risk of diluting the effect of the council, and I am not sure embarrassing the freeholders is the way to go."

A study into the possible benefits of joining the county police dispatch program was started in December 2006, when the township participated in surveys and reports to determine whether it would be a smart move.

The county dispatch program—which currently includes partnerships with Branchburg, Peapack-Gladstone, Bedminster and South Bound Brook, among others—eliminates the need for individual dispatch programs in the participating towns. The program has been in place for about 15 years, and works through a communications center in the lower level of a building on North Bridge Street in Somerville.

The center has 20 different consoles for dispatchers who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. When calls come in from participating towns, dispatchers use communication capabilities to contact officers in the field in the specific municipalities.

"We have gone back and forth, and the county has been doing interoperability studies," Bridgewater Township Administrator Jim Naples said in a separate interview. "But there are questions that remain unanswered to determine the feasibility of this."

For one thing, Naples said, the township still does not know how much it will cost to join the system, and how much residents will save through the program.

Naples said the township would like to be able to look into moving over to the county system for 2011, so it can remove dispatch payments from the budget. But, at this point, that cannot happen.

"We don't think that's fair, since we started looking into this in 2006," he said at the meeting. "With the revenue picture looking bleaker, there are limited options for savings."

Still, the possibility of joining the system, Naples said, hinges on finishing the study to determine the feasibility of it, as well as a problem with available frequencies in the county. Because Bridgewater is so large in size, he said, he was recently informed by the county that based on the available frequencies, the township could not join the system for 18 months.

"The county needs more frequencies to handle a town as big as Bridgewater," he said.

Aside from that, Naples said, the township is still waiting on information about necessary equipment and transferring the police department's existing data.

"The switch still remains a possibility," he said.

Rose questioned whether this resolution could shorten that 18-month wait, but Naples said he does not know because it was the first time he had heard that frequencies would not be available.

Councilman Howard Norgalis, who was a member of the council when the county program was first examined, said he knows the police department was not enthusiastic about the program because of questions concerning costs and other issues.

Naples said these questions have not yet been answered.

"We can't determine yet whether this program would be cost affective," he said.

Still, the council members' biggest concern was the fact that they did not believe the resolution would be affective or was necessary.

"What concerns me is that by acting on the resolution, it means we want to move forward," said Councilman Allen Kurdyla, adding that the township has not yet decided if this county program would be beneficial to the residents. "I think the study could move forward without the resolution."

Council President Matthew Moench said he does not support the county program itself.

"I don't support losing local control over dispatch," he said.

Instead of sending a resolution to request that the work be sped up, Norgalis said, he would prefer a letter be sent to the county by the mayor.

"I don't want to upset our relationship with the county," he said. "But if the administration says this resolution is needed, I am willing to support it."

Councilman Dan Hayes, who also voted for the resolution, said he believes it is important for the study to be completed as soon as possible so residents can be informed about the kinds of savings joining the program would bring.

"It is important for Bridgewater to understand the savings opportunities," he said. "I think it is financially imperative for the residents to understand the costs."

Mayor Patricia Flannery said she believes joining the county program will be a cost benefit to residents, who are currently paying for dispatchers in the township, as well as for the county's dispatch program.

"Through the county tax bill, residents are subsidizing other towns, and also paying for their own dispatch," she said, adding that the township currently pays about $600,000 a year for its 11 dispatchers. "With the budget crunch, there are not many ways to save hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Naples said Bridgewater would not need its own dispatchers if it were to join in the county's program.

Flannery said she imagines some of the workers would move to the county, while others would stay on working reception in the department so the department could remain open during the day.

"Though I think that maybe in some hours, we wouldn't need someone at the desk," she said.

With the resolution voted down, Naples said he does not know if it will come before the council again, but he still believes it could have been helpful in moving the study forward.

"It would have certainly lent weight to the concerns we've expressed in the past," he said.

As the township now waits for the study to be completed, Flannery said she does not believe switching over to the county system will hurt the service residents in town have come to expect. She said even though county dispatchers may not know every area of town, those in need anywhere in Bridgewater should still get the service they require.

Naples said the township currently handles roughly 1,600 911 dispatch calls every month.

"If you look at a police department like in New York City, they have centralized dispatch who don't know every nook and cranny of the city," Flannery said. "I'm sure there is a way to work it out, and I don't think residents will see any change in response."