By Thomas R. Collins
Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach have dropped the idea of rolling their police dispatch operations into one after a consultant’s report recommended having higher staffing levels at a joint center than the departments have now on their own.
Plus, Boca Raton police officials said, it seemed that the departments were not on the same page on upgrading their existing communications systems, which would have been critical in making a joint center work, especially in terms of cost.
The consultant’s report, which cost $18,000 per city, was the suggestion of the Boca department, which intends to upgrade its communications system in the next two to three years.
The hope was that it would make financial sense, while providing better service, for the departments to join together to handle police and fire calls.
“The numbers really didn’t bear that out, although in the long run I think they might have,” said Jim Burke, Boca Raton police’s director of support services.
He said he thought that if all three departments upgraded their communications systems at the same time, with new features like the ability to send text messages to 911 operators, the project would have made more financial sense. All of the departments use similar systems now, he said.
“It all is timing, but there is a life end to a radio system,” he said. “Boynton and Delray at this point, they’re not looking to consolidate.”
Boynton Police Chief Matt Immler left open the possibility of pursuing joint dispatch later.
“The start-up costs for us make it impractical at this point, although the concept of a regional dispatch center is a good one,” he said.
The report, by RCC Consultants, didn’t evaluate how much would be saved if all departments upgraded their communications together, as part of a joint center, compared to upgrading separately.
In northern Palm Beach County, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter and Juno Beach use a joint dispatch center, but just for police calls.
The report analyzed the number and timing of calls to each city and recommended adding more than a dozen telecommunications operators, which would cost about $700,000 to $800,000 more a year, depending on whether two or three shifts were used in a joint center.
Burke said the suggestion for higher staffing was not an indication that existing staffing levels are too low, saying the report was only an evaluation of a joint center, not an evaluation of the separate centers as they exist now.
“They didn’t look at our current staffing levels,” he said.
The report also estimated that it would cost $3.3 million to renovate space for a joint center.
Despite the costs, the report said a joint center would come with advantages.
It would give “improved public safety dispatch services provided to the citizens. Telecommunications are similarly trained to provide consistent service to the public and public safety response unit personnel,” consultants wrote.
It would also eliminate having to transfer calls to other departments and improve multi-agency responses to emergencies requiring them, they said.
Burke said the consultant’s report was a worthwhile effort.
“It was in all the cities’ best interest to check into whether we could deliver this service more efficiently,” he said. “It just made more sense for everybody involved to see if this was a possibility.”
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