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Consultant discusses 911 consolidation with officials
Legal, contractual and political mountains must be scaled, a consultant says.
YOUNGSTOWN — Local officials exploring consolidation of Mahoning County’s eight 911 answering points have a long planning process ahead of them and shouldn’t expect instant results, a consultant advised.
“You can’t do it quickly. If you’re looking for a quick fix, you’re dreaming,” said Barry Strock, the Albany, N.Y.-based consultant the county commissioners hired to guide the exploratory process.
“It would have happened already if it was easy,” Strock told the audience at Tuesday’s inaugural meeting of the county’s E-911 Consolidation Exploratory Advisory Committee.
About 40 people, including mayors, township trustees, police and fire chiefs, and emergency dispatching administrators, gathered for the meeting in the Boardman Township Government Center.
One year from now, the group should have a proposed 911 consolidation plan specifying governance, budget, bylaws, the cost-sharing arrangement among participating communities, and the location of the main and backup answering points of the new system, Strock said.
To build and open a new, consolidated emergency dispatching center, however, likely would take five years, he said.
Some of the attendees came to the meeting convinced that consolidation is desirable, but others were skeptical.
“The goal should be a more technologically advanced 911 system that is far superior to what we have now, and, in the longer term, saving money for the taxpayer,” said Anthony G. Paglia, vice president for government affairs of the Regional Chamber, which favors consolidation.
Poland Fire Chief David C. Comstock Jr. said the goals of consolidation should be efficiency and cost savings.
“If it’s done right, I’m absolutely in favor of it,” he said of consolidation.
In difficult economic times, “We are looking at something that’s going to cost a great deal more money than we already have. My first question has to be: What are we trying to accomplish and why?” Struthers Police Chief Robert Norris asked Strock.
“Every one of you is now spending money. You will continue to spend that money. The question is: Is there a better way to spend the money?” Strock replied.
“It may not always save you money. Maybe in the long run, there may be some savings,” Strock said of consolidation.
Among the issues that must be considered are the telephone lines for the new dispatching center, the computer systems for dispatching and records management, the radio system and frequencies to be used, the system that will pinpoint geographic origins of cellular phone calls, and a pay scale for dispatchers, he said.
“There are lots of pieces of the puzzle,” he said.
It will be helpful if participating jurisdictions can agree to use a common set of codes and signals in radio communications, Strock added.
Those planning the new system will have to decide who will have the authority to spend the money, hire and fire personnel, and levy taxes to support it, said Strock, who has been engaged in 911 consolidation efforts for almost 40 years.
“There are legal, contractual and political mountains that need to be scaled,” he said.
“Our goal should be to have an intelligent discussion” about the advantages and disadvantages of consolidation, said Boardman Police Chief Patrick Berarducci.
After that initial discussion, “then consolidation may be a viable option,” he said.
But Berarducci said he hasn’t heard enough discussion yet to decide whether he favors consolidation.
“911, by it’s definition, is a life-saving emergency response. So I have to know with a high degree of certainty that that call’s going to be taken, that it’s going to be handled properly, it’s going to be done by highly trained people, and it’s going to be done on a system that, technically, is proficient,” he said.
“That’s my concern. Are we going to do it right? Because, if we don’t, people will die,” he concluded.
milliken@vindy.com