Copyright 2006 The Hearst Corporation
Legislators request grant to study feasibility of center to handle emergency dispatch for Schenectady and five towns
By MIKE GOODWIN
The Times Union (Albany, New York)
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — After discussing the matter for years with no real movement, Schenectady County legislators have taken the first concrete step toward the possible creation of a countywide emergency dispatch system.
Lawmakers have asked the state for a grant to study the feasibility of creating a centralized facility to handle the dispatching of police, fire and ambulance crews in the city of Schenectady and five surrounding towns.
“The county is requesting $100,000 and will contribute $10,000,” said Susan Savage, a Niskayuna Democrat who chairs the Legislature. The city, Niskayuna, Glenville, and Rotterdam handle dispatching in their own jurisdictions, but over the years leaders in those towns have expressed interest in the creation of a countywide system if it can be shown to save money.
Savage said the grant would “give us a way to see if we can” afford and implement centralized dispatch.
Consolidation of local government functions into the county has been a subject of political talks for years. In the mid-1990s, then-Mayor Albert P. Jurczynski proposed a merger of the county and the city of Schenectady. But there were few takers for the proposal in city government. Another favorite topic - creation of a single police department for the geographically tiny county - has also generated little more than occasional discussion.
However, over the last two years, the county had undertaken a series of modest cooperative efforts with the towns and city. In 2004, the county began performing vehicle repairs for the city, allowing the city to cut some of its maintenance budget. Rotterdam police cars are also being repaired by the county.
The county is leading efforts to negotiate a new contract with Time Warner Cable of Albany, a chore usually handled by local governments. The county and the local governments have also begun bulk fuel purchases to save money.
The county has been slow to move on bigger projects, but a centralized dispatch center would represent a more ambitious effort to share services. Another major subject, the creation of a centralized booking facility at the Sheriff’s Department, has failed to generate as much enthusiasm. In theory, centralized booking would allow local police officers to bring suspects directly to the Sheriff’s Department for holding, rather than watch over them in a police holding cell until they can be arraigned by a town or city judge.