Cities Opting To Give Up 911 Dispatch Services To County

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JASII

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While it certainly won't be news to many people here, I thought that I would pass along the URL to the video in case anybody wants to watch and/or read this.

Cities Opting To Give Up 911 Dispatch Services To County | KSTP.com

By the end of the year, Hennepin County dispatchers will be taking phone calls from half a million people as one suburban city closes its dispatch center and opts to consolidate its operations with the county.

The city of Minnetonka voted this fall to enter an agreement with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office to provide emergency dispatch and 911 call services.

The move is part of a rising trend across the country, according to Hennepin County Sheriff Sheriff Rich Stanek.

Cities Opting To Give Up 911 Dispatch Services To County

"When you call 911 you want seamless public safety response," Stanek said. "So it makes sense to partner, consolidate to get that efficiency."

Minnetonka Police Chief Scott Boerboom said the decision came from a year-long facilities study that examined the cost of staffing, infrastructure updates and new technology over the next few decades.

"Do we want to invest in the space, in the staffing in the technology or is the timing good now to look at outsourcing?" Boerboom said.

"Technology is evolving quicker and faster. It's more expensive, so really you have to have a long-term commitment to maintain that technology and with that comes a lot of money."

Minnetonka's dispatch system will switch to county operations by the end of the year. Stanek says since he took office in 2007, he's overseen the consolidation of three different cities.

According to the county, only 8 local dispatch operations still exist in Hennepin County, a jurisdiction that has 36 local police departments.

The move is also happening in other places around the Twin Cities.

Leaders in White Bear Lake announced in September it was looking to partner with Ramsey County for 911 dispatch services.
 

stmills

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That was one of the better news stories on public safety Communications, they actually seemed to put some time and research into it and provided some decent info.
 
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