BRECKSVILLE, Ohio – Brecksville and Independence will likely hire an administrator to run their regional emergency dispatch center inside the proposed new Brecksville police station.
The two cities hope to appoint the administrator, who could earn between $60,000-$70,000 a year, before construction of the police station starts. That way, the administrator can bring his or her expertise to the project.
Brecksville and Independence will conduct a statewide search for administrator candidates. The winning candidate will run the dispatch center independently of all other city departments.
That’s what Brecksville Mayor Jerry Hruby told City Council last week. He added that city officials are talking to two other municipalities about possibly joining the regional dispatch center, which will be large enough to accommodate up to 12 communities, although it will more likely include six-eight.
“The saying is, ‘Build it and they will come,'” Hruby told council. “We think that’s what’s going to happen.”
Municipalities all over Cuyahoga County, and Ohio, are merging dispatch centers. The state has mandated that counties significantly reduce the number of dispatch centers by 2018 or face cuts in their 911 funding, which pays for upgrades to dispatch systems.
As of last summer, seven regional dispatch centers had been established in Cuyahoga County. They include Southwest Regional Dispatch Center, which serves Berea, Olmsted Falls, North Royalton and Strongsville; Parma Regional Dispatch Center, which serves Parma, Parma Heights, Brooklyn and Brook Park; and Chagrin Valley Dispatch, which serves more than a dozen east-side communities.
Hruby said Brecksville and Independence are modeling their dispatch center after Chagrin Valley Dispatch, which city officials recently toured. He said they liked the center’s physical layout and organizational structure.
The two cities have not settled on a name for the dispatch center. Last summer, Hruby said they might call it Cuyahoga Valley Regional Dispatch Center or Cuyahoga Valley Emergency Radio Dispatch Center. Last week, Hruby came up with an even longer name: Cuyahoga Valley Emergency Police and Fire Services Dispatch Center.
Brecksville, Independence will share dispatch center in new police station
Hruby said neither Brecksville nor Independence plan to lay off dispatchers. The two cities employ about 15 dispatchers between them and pay dispatchers similar wages. Instead, the number of dispatchers will be reduced over time through attrition. Until then, some dispatchers will be assigned additional clerk duties.
“Staffing discussions are in progress,” Hruby told cleveland.com Monday. “It’s very early on.”
The police station and dispatch center will stand on Ohio 21, across from the existing City Hall and police station. The cost to build the station-center has not been determined, although Hruby last summer said he expected it will cost roughly $7 million or $8 million.
The project has experienced several delays. In August 2013, Hruby said the plan was to break ground on the station in fall 2014 or earl 2015. The start date was subsequently pushed back to spring 2015.
In August, Hruby said his latest goal was to start construction by the end of fall 2016. At that time, he said delays occurred partly because, for about a year, the city negotiated with four villages – Brooklyn Heights, Cuyahoga Heights, Newburgh Height and Valley View – over jail- and dispatch-sharing agreements. Those negotiations were ultimately unsuccessful.
Also, to save money, the city backed out certain components from the new station, Hruby said. For example, the mayor’s court, which hears a limited number of cases, will remain in City Hall.
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