WEATHERSFIELD Niles 911 will send safety forces

The township made good on statements made earlier in the year.
MINERAL RIDGE -- Weathersfield Township safety forces will soon be dispatched from the Niles 911 center, instead of from the Trumbull County 911 Center.
Township officials said they will make the switch because they believe they'll get better service from Niles and have more input with the operation than they did with the county.
The improvement will come at a higher cost. The contract with Niles will cost the township $65,000 a year, compared with the $57,000 cost of a one-year contract with the county, township officials said.
The contract with Niles is still being drawn up but should be signed in time for the switch to be made sometime in October, said township administrator David Pugh.
Residents would still dial 911 to summon the fire or police department for emergencies. Nonemergency calls can be made to (330) 675-2730 until the change takes place.
No date
Trumbull County Administrator Anthony Carson Jr. said he has not received any new information from the township on a date when the township would be leaving the county's service, just the letters "months and months" ago indicating its intent to leave.
The township indicated in March it was considering a move to the Niles service.
At the time, members of the Trumbull County Township Association approved a plan that would give county commissioners a way to keep dispatchers from being laid off.
The association paid the county the amount of money they would owe for the rest of the year in a lump sum, instead of in monthly installments.
Weathersfield was the one member of the organization that chose not to participate, saying it was leaving the county 911.