By Rich Pollack
Highland Beach town officials have pushed the hold button on plans to change the way 911 calls are handled — at least until Delray Beach decides whether or not to have Palm Beach County take over that city’s fire and rescue services.
This summer, Highland Beach officials approved a plan to switch dispatch services from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office to Delray Beach, in an effort to eliminate redundancies and streamline the process.
Currently, all 911 calls from Highland Beach are handled by the Sheriff’s Office. Because fire and rescue service in Highland Beach is provided by Delray Beach Fire-Rescue, however, calls must be transferred by the county operators to Delray Beach fire-rescue dispatchers.
Under the proposed plan, Delray Beach dispatchers would receive all 911 calls from Highland Beach, eliminating the need for transfers.
Highland Beach Police Chief Craig Hartmann said contract negotiations for dispatch service with Delray Beach had been under way but now are being postponed until Delray Beach decides if it will transfer fire rescue services to the county. Police calls are dispatched directly by the Sheriff’s Office.
“Our goal is to have one dispatch center for all our public safety calls so we can better serve our residents,” Hartmann said.
Hartmann said that Delray’s study could take several months until a decision is made, so the town will continue to have dispatch services provided by the county.
“We don’t want to be in a position where we make changes to better serve our residents and then have to make changes again a short time later,” he said.
While dispatch negotiations are on hold, Highland Beach is currently renegotiating its existing contract with Delray Beach for fire and rescue services.
Highland Beach Town Attorney Glen Torcivia said the town is proposing language in the new agreement that would enable it to back out of the contract should Delray Beach decide to have Palm Beach County take over its fire and rescue services.
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