CARMEL – Earlier this year plans to merge the Putnam County 9-1-1 Dispatch Center with the sheriff’s office dispatching division were met with great optimism and a request has been made by the Bureau of Emergency Services to transfer grant funds to purchase three consoles for the advanced center received unanimous support.
The consoles will be needed for the extra personnel manning the center once the merger takes place.
Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services Robert Lipton was asked about which agency would oversee the new center once it is finalized. He said no decision had been reached regarding the supervision.
Currently, emergency calls received at the 9-1-1 Center are handled by a well-trained team of dispatchers who summon fire and ambulance corps personnel as well as turn calls related to police matters over to either the sheriff’s office, Carmel, Kent, Cold Spring or Brewster Police as well as State Police.
The sheriff’s office has its own dispatchers as do Carmel and Kent Police at their respective headquarters.
Under the new plan, sheriff’s dispatchers would be relocated to the 9-1-1 Center at the Training and Operations (TOPS) facility on the Donald Smith Governmental Campus in Carmel. The additional consoles would be added to house the new personnel.
Sheriff Robert Langley said “there will be a lot for everyone to learn,” adding that he “strongly recommended joining forces.”
Lipton and Commissioner of Emergency Services Ken Clair continue to research grants that might be available to help offset the cost of the conversion.
Clair was hopeful that the sheriff’s dispatchers could be located in their new home at the TOPS building before the end of the year.
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