SPRING LAKE — The Borough Council has voted to move the borough’s police dispatch services to Monmouth County.
The shared-service agreement, approved by a resolution at Tuesday’s council meeting, will save the borough about $200,000 in 2012, officials said.
Police Chief Edward Kerr said consolidation is the wave of the future and called the county’s dispatch services second to none.
“It’s going to be a great savings to us and a great service provider. They’re already providing our 911 services and they’re going to take on answering our phone calls. It’s going to be a great partnership and definitely save the taxpayers some money,” Kerr said.
Kerr said the move could be completed by mid-February at the earliest, but the borough police building will continue to be staffed seven days a week so residents can pick up police reports, get information or meet with an officer. The current plan is to have the building open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
“We want to make sure residents still have access to the same services even though the dispatch function is going somewhere else,” Mayor Jennifer Naughton said.
Borough business administrator Bryan Dempsey added that the building will be staffed with part-time employees.
Naughton said the shared-service agreement with the county for the dispatch will cost the borough about $103,000. The borough was paying about $300,000 for dispatch service after Spring Lake Heights, with which it had a shared service agreement, moved its dispatch to Belmar.
“When we lost Spring Lake Heights, we had to pick up the whole cost of dispatch, so we were over $300,000,” Naughton said.
Published in the Asbury park press 1/25/12
The shared-service agreement, approved by a resolution at Tuesday’s council meeting, will save the borough about $200,000 in 2012, officials said.
Police Chief Edward Kerr said consolidation is the wave of the future and called the county’s dispatch services second to none.
“It’s going to be a great savings to us and a great service provider. They’re already providing our 911 services and they’re going to take on answering our phone calls. It’s going to be a great partnership and definitely save the taxpayers some money,” Kerr said.
Kerr said the move could be completed by mid-February at the earliest, but the borough police building will continue to be staffed seven days a week so residents can pick up police reports, get information or meet with an officer. The current plan is to have the building open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
“We want to make sure residents still have access to the same services even though the dispatch function is going somewhere else,” Mayor Jennifer Naughton said.
Borough business administrator Bryan Dempsey added that the building will be staffed with part-time employees.
Naughton said the shared-service agreement with the county for the dispatch will cost the borough about $103,000. The borough was paying about $300,000 for dispatch service after Spring Lake Heights, with which it had a shared service agreement, moved its dispatch to Belmar.
“When we lost Spring Lake Heights, we had to pick up the whole cost of dispatch, so we were over $300,000,” Naughton said.
Published in the Asbury park press 1/25/12
