By Erin Eileen O’Neill
The Star-Ledger
SUMMIT, N.J. — After years of floating the idea, Summit, New Providence and Berkeley Heights all recently agreed to study the possibility of combining their 911 dispatch systems, as Union County looks into similar initiatives.
The towns could potentially save about $250,000 annually in personnel costs by joining dispatch services, according to a study completed with state money and presented to town officials last month.
But there are hurdles to implementing the plan.
“It’s not as simple as throwing everyone into a room and going on the radio,” said Summit Mayor Jordan Glatt during the city’s council discussion of the plan last week.
If the three western Union County towns do consolidate emergency dispatch centers, it may mark the beginning of a countywide trend.
The county just hired retired Berkeley Heights Police Captain Andrew Moran to look into the possibility of sharing services, including courts, radio and dispatch centers, on the county level.
With the three town consolidation plan still in preliminary stages, the municipalities are treading lightly while considering the initiative.
Several lingering details that prevent police captains and elected officials from wholeheartedly embracing the plan include whether a new dispatch center will need to be built, how much that would cost and how it would be governed.
Another issue, said New Providence Police Chief Anthony Buccelli Jr., is the different software each department uses to keep digital records.
“That has to be worked out. How can you consolidate that system?” Buccelli said.
That’s one of the questions Moran may have to answer for Union County.
As the newly appointed public safety specialist, Moran will investigate the feasibility of such consolidation efforts. He said his background in Berkeley Heights supports his work for the county.
“I’m well aware of the challenges that face small departments,” said Moran, who noted that consolidation would help those departments acquire better equipment, as well as provide more backup.
The county’s shared services coordinator, Cherron Rountree, said a consolidated dispatch system in Bergen County serves as a model. Three towns started that system and now the consortium serves more than 14 municipalities, said Rountree.
And though only three towns are considering the initiative in Union County currently, Rountree said, “We’d be open to working with others.”
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