TRUMBULL COUNTY Group: Keep our dispatch center

Keep call-taking in Liberty for a fast response, a representative says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LIBERTY -- The organization representing Liberty police, fire and ambulance dispatchers says closing the township dispatching center and having the Trumbull County 911 center in Howland handle Liberty's emergency calls is a bad idea.
But Patrick Ungaro, Liberty Township administrator, emphasized that no decision has been made on any such transition.
"We're concerned about losing our dispatch center," said Michael Janovick, a labor representative for Liberty police officers.
Looking back
When the Trumbull County 911 Center dispatched for Liberty in the mid-1990s, "it didn't work out," he said.
"The center couldn't handle our call volume in a safe and efficient manner, and the end result was dispatching was brought back here to Liberty," he said, noting that the Liberty Police Department is one of the busiest in Trumbull County.
Janovick, who is with the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, made his remarks as more than 80 Liberty residents and business people, police and dispatchers gathered Wednesday evening for a meeting in the township hall concerning the proposed change.
With 911 emergency dispatching occurring in the township hall, "The call comes here, and they get a quick response," he said of area residents and business people.
The OPBA, which represents the township's dispatchers, sponsored the meeting in the wake of unanimous passage by Liberty trustees this summer of a resolution to explore having Liberty once again join the county 911 system and get estimates of what it would cost the township to participate.
"We feel the safety of the residents and the officers and fire department is the most important thing," said dispatcher Cindy Emmert, OPBA representative for communications. "Our response time is excellent. We're within four minutes," she said of Liberty dispatching and safety forces.
Liberty has four full-time and four part-time dispatchers, she said. If Liberty closes its dispatching center and joins Trumbull County 911, she said she thinks Liberty dispatchers could apply for jobs at the Trumbull County 911 center, which she said is understaffed and needs three more employees.
Ungaro, who attended the meeting, said state auditors recommended that the township explore the cost savings it might achieve by rejoining the county's 911 center.
Liberty spends about $250,000 a year to operate its own 911 dispatching center. It could join the county center for an ongoing fee of about $120,000 a year, he said, adding that he did not know what the township's initiation fee would be to join the county center. If Liberty and Girard join the county center, there would be no initiation fee, he said.
"Until you get all the numbers, you can't really say whether it's economically the right thing to do," Ungaro said of joining the county center. The question facing the township is: "Do you make a decision predicated on the cost savings, or do you want to keep it based on the quality of service?" he said.
Any change would likely occur after the end of this year, Ungaro said, adding that the county commissioners will have the final say.
milliken@vindy.com