LOWELL -- City officials believe joining a regional 911-dispatch center could produce cost savings, as well as other benefits for the city, so Lowell plans to take part in the second stage of efforts to make the planned facility a reality.
The first stage of the process was a feasibility study of a nine-community regional emergency-communications center conducted by a consultant hired by the Northern Middlesex Council of Governments, known as NMCOG, with grant money.
The consultants examined the strengths and weaknesses of a dispatch center that would serve Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Pepperell, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro and Westford.
According to the study, Lowell could save about $500,000 a year by taking part in the proposed facility. The savings would be achieved because the city would be eligible for far more grant funding than it is currently as part of a regional entity.
The city spends $1.3 million annually on dispatch services by operating a communications facility in the Lowell Police Department that handles police and fire calls.
Other cost savings could come from lower capital costs, a result of better pricing on equipment and state support for purchasing new equipment that would be featured at the center.
In addition to the budget impact, a regional center would require all participating communities to use the same radio equipment, which is expected to improve communication during regional emergencies.
City officials also say the city's communications center offers limited opportunities for advancement, but the regional facility will give dispatchers a chance to take on more responsibility and receive an increase in pay. Lowell has three lead dispatchers and 24 dispatchers in addition to the director, according to NMCOG.
"This study has shown there is the potential for savings and improved service," City Manager Bernie Lynch told the council last week. "We think it is worth continuing to work with our neighbors and look to see if this could and should move forward."
Lynch also said progressing with the regional center plan has the support of the city's police and fire departments.
City councilors have expressed mixed opinions about the regional 911 center.
Councilor Vesna Nuon, a member of the council's public-safety subcommittee, said he is excited about the program because it is an opportunity for cost savings for the city at a time when annual budgets are tight.
But Councilor Marty Lorrey said at last week's council meeting that "cost isn't everything" and he has concerns that a regional center would lack personnel with the local knowledge that would allow them to best serve the public.
"If I'm having a heart attack, do I want someone in Groton trying to distinguish if I'm talking about Varnum Ave. or Varnum Street?" Lorrey asked.
His concern about local knowledge is one City Councilor Rita Mercier says she shared. But Mercier said she has been assured the regional dispatchers would have computerized maps telling them where everything is.
Beverly Woods, NMCOG's executive director, said nicknames for local places are programmed into the dispatching system to help the dispatchers.
"The dispatchers would not have to know Chicken Corner refers to Chelmsford Center," said Woods.
The next step in the process will be an implementation study. NMCOG is submitting an application Friday for a $100,000 state grant to conduct the study.
Billerica and Westford are the only two communities that have expressed their opposition to the center.
Woods said the study will examine where the regional facility could be located, how to transition unionized employees to the center and the personnel and governance structure of the center.
Two potential sites are already being examined: Tewksbury State Hospital and the Billerica House of Correction. A yet-to-be disclosed site in Lowell is also being considered.
The hope is to have the funding in place and the study completed by June 2013, said Woods.
After the implementation study, communities will be asked again to decide if they want to move forward.
No final commitment has to be made until the application for design and construction funding from the state is made.
The state will pay for all costs for design, construction and equipment, but it will not pay for the land cost.
The council's public-safety subcommittee will discuss the proposed regional facility in the coming weeks.
Woods said she is thrilled with Lowell's support of the regionalization effort, which she says is because the city's leaders realize the many benefits the center could provide and are forward-thinking.
"There is nothing but advantages for them," she said.
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