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Send us your news Public Service Announcement Submit Advertising Classified Advertising Issue Archives 8 November 2007 |
Stantonsburg finds ways to reduce emergency response costs
By Sarah A. Wise
NL Staff Writer
15 November 2007 — Emergency communications could be costing the town of Stantonsburg too much, according to town council members at Monday night’s meeting
As the council reviewed town expenses for the month, Councilman Dan Whitley inquired about a bill for the county for emergency services He asked if the cost, which was around $15,000 for the quarter, was what the bill normally ran
Town Manager Gary Davis said that the bill varied from quarter to quarter, but the town had seen costs as high as the bill for this quarter.
Mr. Whitley then expressed that he felt the town was being charged too much. He asked how the charge was figured.
Chief of Police John Hunt explained that every time there are emergency communications between the county and Stantonsburg, the town receives a charge. For example, when someone calls 911 in Saratoga, if a county deputy isn’t around, the department may be dispatched. That call would then be charged to Stantonsburg.
He explained that sometimes calls with Stantonsburg phone numbers or addresses get charged to the town as well, even though they are in county jurisdiction.
Additionally, whenever Stantonsburg officers conduct a traffic stop, they must call the county’s communication center to report the stop, run the license plate number, and check for outstanding warrants. Each of these calls also incurs a charge.
However, Mr. Davis said that at the end of each year, the 911 department conducts an audit which aims to clear up calls that were charged to Stantonsburg but were not in their jurisdiction. He said that every year, the town ends up receiving a credit to their account and they have never been charged for not paying enough. He added that the amount charged each quarter is an estimate.
Chief Hunt said that Wilson County is the only county he knows of that operates their emergency charges that way.
“I don’t know how the county is getting away with it,” he said. “I think if we could get the town lawyer involved we could probably get something done.”
Councilman Whitley said he felt that the town was “getting one pulled over on them.” He said that the way he saw it, the town is helping out Saratoga and being penalized for it. He asked if the other towns in the county operated under the same system.
Mr. Davis said that it was a county-wide policy. He then said that the next best move for the town would be to get together with the other municipalities and present their concerns to the county commissioners. He noted, however, that he had brought up the issue several times before, to no avail.
Chief Hunt said that he had several request for the police department that, in addition to being convenient for officers and citizens, would also help to decrease the cost from communications.
The first request was to purchase one cell phone for the department for the officer on duty. That phone would receive calls forwarded from the department’s phone line. Often there is only one officer on duty in town, and that officer is out patrolling the town rather than sitting in the office. Therefore, when calls come in to the office, they tend to go unanswered. The cell phone would cut down on missed calls.
Cutting down on missed calls relating to non-emergency matters would then cut down on calls to 911. Many citizens may call the department first in a non-emergency situation, such as lights going out. However, if no one can be reached there, they call 911 to make a report, and then the communications department contacts the Stantonsburg police.
Chief Hunt said that he has no doubt that, during a recent blackout, at least 100 phone calls may have come in to 911 to report the situation. That translate into 100 charges for the town, a charge that a cell phone could have reduced.
The second device Chief Hunt is working on obtaining is a computer for each police car. Installing computers would allow officers to run license and warrant checks from the car without making calls to central communications, causing another cost reduction.
Though he feels those two items will help cut costs, he still encouraged the board to speak to their county commissioners about the situation.
“I don’t know how Wilson is getting away with it,” he said. “I think if the boards that had been in place then had united together, you wouldn’t see charges like this.”
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