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Politics & Government

911 Dispatch Transferred to County, Despite Emergency Responders' Concerns

Council concerned that many issues are still unresolved.

By a 4-1 vote, the Township Council on Monday agreed to move forward with transferring 911 dispatching from the police department to Somerset County.

The decision, fiercely opposed by township emergency responders who packed council chambers, was made with some reluctance, with council members vowing to pull the plug on the agreement if the county does not resolve outstanding issues to the township’s satisfaction.

But that was not enough to assuage opponents of the transfer.

”You will find out the hard way,” veteran police officer Michael Sommers told the council after the vote. “This is a political decision with life-threatening results.”

The sole dissenting vote came from Council Matthew Moench who said there was “zero evidence” that switching to county dispatch would provide an equal level of service to residents.

The councilman said he had talked to patrol officers in other municipalities that had switched to the county and “every single one of them said they were not better off.”

Moench also said that he did not want to enter into an agreement with the county while there were several issues --- a radio channel designated solely for Bridgewater, clarification on a back-up system and other protocols --- still outstanding.

”We’re doing this on nothing more than ‘we’ll figure it out’,” he said.

Moench also said that switching the system would scrap the ability of all township emergency personnel  --- police, volunteer firefighters, rescue squad members --- to communicate with each other. He said that was a “decline in service.”

Moench argued that a safety issue might arise with the loss of township dispatchers because no personnel will be at the entrance of police headquarters during off-hours. A person coming to headquarters after 8 p.m. would have to use a telephone connected to the county center to talk to a police officer.

He also said that he doubted that taxpayers would feel any savings. “We’re just taking it off one budget and putting it into another,” he said, adding that county taxes would probably rise by increasing the call volume at the 911 center.

Mayor Daniel Hayes had said that by conservative estimates, the township could save $4.5 million over 10 years by switching to county dispatch. The savings would grow to $729,000 a year after transition expenses are funded, he said. Property tax bills would decrease about $21 for a house assessed at $500,000.

Council President Christine Rose said she was not “a happy camper” because of the number of issues that remain and was split between voting and rejecting the agreement.

However, when Councilman Howard Norgalis surrendered his seat on the committee overseeing the transfer to the county and offered it to the council president, Rose said she decided to vote yes so that she could sit on the committee and personally “safeguard” that the safety interests of residents are not being compromised.

Councilman Allen Kurdyla, who worked on the committee for two years fashioning an agreement with the county, said  the question of a backup could be a dealbreaker for him.  Though there has been talk of reaching an agreement with Morris County, no formal pact has been reached, he said.

Kurdyla said he was in favor of the move because if the Federal Communications Commission orders a change in radio frequencies, that mandate would be easier and cheaper to meet in a county system.

He also said an agreement on outstanding issues has to be reached with the county. “All of our requests have to be met,” he said.

The council made its decision after several speakers criticized the switch, presenting evidence that the county made 47 mistakes in dispatching emergency responders and that the county dispatchers are not as familiar with Bridgewater as the township dispatchers. Others said that the township dispatchers are “passionate” about theur jobs while for the county dispatchers, “it’s just a job.”

”Our dispatchers are for the residents,” Sommers said, adding that the township dispatches in seconds while the “county does it in minutes.”

.Police Chief Richard Borden said he is committed to working with whatever decision the council made. However, the most important factor in making the change, for him, is whether the county will dedicate a radio channel exclusively for the police’s use.

”There’s too much going on in our township to share that channel even with a smaller agency,” he said.

The chief said his priority in the transition is insuring that public safety would not be compromised.

”They (the county) will do everything possible to offer the same service we give now,” he said.

The first step for the county is hiring more dispatchers to handle Bridgewater calls and making infrastructure changes. However, no definite timeline has been created for the switch.

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