By Mary Buckley
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
BROWN DEER, Wis. — A subcommittee studying consolidated dispatch for seven communities in the North Shore reported that Brown Deer stands to save about $2 million over 10 years.
Bayside Village Manager Andy Pederson, North Shore Fire Department Chief Robert Whitaker and Bayside Police Chief Bruce Resnick, who along with representatives from Glendale, Shorewood, Whitefish Bay and Brown Deer, make up the subcommittee provided the Brown Deer Village Board with a broad outline of the group’s findings Monday night. Pederson said that all seven communities would benefit from the proposal, but Brown Deer would save the most.
Pederson and Whitaker said a combined dispatch center would do more than reduce costs. Whitaker said having one center with dispatchers trained in the same way and hearing all radio traffic related to an incident is an operational benefit. “The (police and fire) service on the street benefit when it is coordinated from one point of origin,” he said.
The subcommittee has looked at costs, governance and staffing and concluded one dispatch center would benefit everyone. Besides the operational advantages for police and firefighters, there would be quicker call processing and dispatching with all services in one location.
Other personnel, including Brown Deer police officers, would not have to be called off the street to dispatch during lunch breaks or if someone is unable to fill a shift. Capital costs would be reduced because upgrades would be needed for only one center. Personnel costs would be reduced as the plan calls for 21 dispatchers and a supervisor versus the 24 now employed at the three centers; information sharing among police departments and firefighters is easily accomplished with one center, according to the study.
Consolidation has been discussed in the North Shore for at least 30 years, Resnick said.
Village President Carl Krueger brought up the issue in October 2009 when his board was reviewing the capital budget for the Police Department. A $210,000 remodeling of the village dispatch center was part of the budget. Krueger asked the department to investigate joining one of the other two existing dispatch centers on the North Shore.
Glendale, Whitefish Bay and Shorewood operate the North Shore Dispatch Center located in the basement of Whitefish Bay Village Hall. That center also dispatches all North Shore Fire Department calls.
Bayside operates a second dispatch center that serves Fox Point and River Hills at Bayside’s Village Hall.
In May, the Brown Deer department presented a report to its board outlining the costs associated with moving to either Bayside or Whitefish Bay. The report answered some questions but raised others and the board wanted more information.
Dispatch combines post-flood Then the flooding of July 22 dramatically changed the picture.
The dispatch center in Whitefish Bay flooded and its dispatchers moved to Bayside. The two groups worked seamlessly side by side for a week, proving in the minds of most officials in the North Shore communities that a consolidated center can work, Pederson said.
Pederson said the three communities at the North Shore Dispatch Center have decided to forgo a discussion on the 2011 capital budget for that center because of their interest in joining a six-or seven-community center.
The focus shifted to providing a dispatch center for all seven communities and having that center in Bayside. Bayside currently has the most up-to-date technology, including the ability to directly receive wireless 911 calls. In the other dispatch centers, those calls go to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s dispatchers who try to determine where the calls are coming from and transfer them to the appropriate center.
Clerk would be needed Brown Deer would need to develop a plan for a clerk to do some tasks now done by dispatchers, such as answering an administrative phone line during the day or processing warrants.
Each of the other six communities has dealt with that staffing issue in its own way. In general, they have one or two clerks, either full or part time.
The board later in the meeting told Village Manager Russell Van Gompel to focus on a 1 to 2 percent levy increase.
Van Gompel said that even with a 2 percent increase the Village Board would have to cut services provided by the village.
Changing the dispatching provider will be considered in the budget discussions, Krueger said after the meeting. Krueger said moving dispatch to Bayside in January 2011 might be considered, not only from a cost savings viewpoint but also a service consideration.
In order for all seven communities to move to the Bayside location, that dispatch center would need an addition. Pederson said that could likely be built and ready for January 2012. The current center has the capacity to begin serving Brown Deer as soon as January 2011, he said.
The full subcommittee report will be presented to all the municipal managers and administrators, police chiefs and fire chief Sept. 27. After Monday night’s meeting, Pederson said the communities will be asked to come to some kind of a decision about a consolidated center by the end of October.
Copyright 2010 Journal Sentinel Inc.