Swampscott regional dispatch plan concerns union

SWAMPSCOTT – The local police union is concerned about a proposal to enter into a long-term contract for a regional 911 emergency dispatch.Massachusetts Coalition of Police Local #417 President Sgt. Joe Kable said he is looking forward to talking to selectmen about the proposal.” ? We are looking forward to a meeting where all information pro-and-con can be presented in a complete and orderly fashion,” he said.The Board of Selectmen were scheduled to discuss the regional dispatch center at a meeting tonight, but the discussion has been pushed back to Nov. 21.Police Chief Ronald Madigan declined to discuss the regional emergency dispatch center.”I will not discuss policy decisions in the newspaper,” Madigan said.Kable said the police officers are confident that residents and town officials will realize pursuing the proposal is not in the best interest of the town.He added 12 of the 19 communities that were prepared to sign on to the regional 911 service are pulling out.”Our concerns with this proposal are based on the specifics of this plan and do not represent a simple rejection of the concept,” Kable said.”We of course remain willing to work with the town to find ways to both enhance services and save money, neither of which we feel the current proposal does.”Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said money for the Essex County Regional Dispatch Center has been secured and six communities have committed to participating in it.”Enough communities are committed for it to proceed,” Maylor said. “The project has an architect, a project manager and is going out to bid. It’s moving forward.”In May 2009, police officers in town expressed concern when Town Meeting members voted to allow the selectmen to enter into an intergovernmental contract for regional dispatch services for a period of up to 10 years. In a handout given to Town Meeting members at that time, union members questioned whether it is advisable to replace trained police officers with civilian dispatchers who may not be familiar with the town.Maylor said using the regional 911 dispatch will allow Madigan flexibility in how police resources are allocated.”The approach we’re taking is desk officers would largely stay intact,” he said. “We are not looking to lay off police officers. We are not vacating the desk and not shutting down the station. People will still be able to walk up to the front desk at the station for assistance. Using regional dispatch would free them up to do other work.”The initial start-up costs for the facility would be paid for by grants and participating municipalities would be charged on a per-capita basis.Maylor said the cost of the system comes down to $16.26 per person annually.”It will cost approximately $230,000 annually,” Maylor said. “I think we all recognize the tough times we’re in and four years ago made a commitment to do whatever we could do to avoid an override and we need to look at regionalization opportunities.”Maylor said the selectmen have not voted to accept a contract with the new dispatch system, but he hopes that an agreement will be reached later this month.