By Josh Mitchell
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CHEYENNE — Voters should have a personal interest in approving $7 million in new emergency services dispatch equipment, Glen Crumpton says.
“It’s important to the citizens to have reliable equipment in the dispatch center so we don’t have system failure,” said Crumpton.
He is Laramie County’s communication center director.
The equipment is one of a group of nine projects that voters will consider approving in Proposition 5 in the Aug. 21 sixth-penny sales tax election.
Proposition 5 totals $10.1 million.
The current dispatch system dates back to 2004, and parts for it will stop being made after 2014, Crumpton said.
“If the equipment has a malfunction, we won’t be able to get the replacement parts from the manufacturer,” Crumpton said.
But Cheyenne resident Juvy LaValley said it is not the right time to buy new dispatch equipment.
“It’s not even 10 years old,” she said. “It’s eight years old. I have a computer that’s older than that that’s still in use.
“Why are they being frivolous about it? Keep using it for the next five to 10 years.”
LaValley said she voted against the sixth-penny sales tax projects across the board.
Crumpton said he did not know how long the new equipment may last, but he hopes it could be used eight to 10 years. He compared it to home computers, which he said are replaced by better technology in about three years.
“Technology has advanced so far that what we have is not the latest technology,” he said.
A new phone system would be capable of going into “next generation 911" to get text messages, he said. But that would require more system add-ons.
The new system would also include a new tower to enhance urban communication for fire protection, law enforcement and ambulances.
Separate projects within the same group of projects would buy $1 million in Cheyenne police radios and $685,000 in sheriff’s office technology, which also includes radios.
The new radios would allow emergency responders to switch back and forth between two frequencies.
All emergency services in Laramie County, except Pine Bluffs, use the dispatch center.
The system is used by the Cheyenne Police Department, Laramie County Sheriff’s Department, Cheyenne Fire and Rescue, Laramie County Emergency Management, eight volunteer fire districts and American Medical Response ambulance service.
If the $25 million public safety building on the sixth-penny sales tax ballot passes, the new equipment would be put in that building. If the new building fails, the dispatch equipment will be put in the existing police station.
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