CANTON, New York (WWNY) – A shift is coming for Ogdensburg police dispatch. St. Lawrence County 911 will take over that duty for a short experiment. It could lead to bigger things.
They’ll be trying something new next week at the county 911 dispatch center: taking on Ogdensburg police dispatch. It will be a four-day pilot program – just for the late-night shift.
“Part of the pilot will help us, the two departments, work together. They can see how we work. We can see how they work,” said Matthew Denner, St. Lawrence County Emergency Services director.
Right now, Ogdensburg police handle their own emergency calls and dispatch. The city administration wants to eventually transfer all of that duty to the county’s 911 center.
“We see this as a really good thing and moving toward what we hope will be the ultimate consolidation of Ogdensburg police dispatching into the county 911 center,” said Stephen Jellie, Ogdensburg city manager.
A state financial restructuring board called for the change two years ago. It could save the city $250,000,” said Jellie.
It pinpoints the location of callers. Everything the dispatcher sees and knows is transmitted to squad cars.
A lot of this will come down to money, and there still appear to be big differences between the county and city when it comes to that.
Ogdensburg officials point out citizens there pay a surcharge on phones to help support county 911 services. Some county officials say that doesn’t come near covering the cost.
“I’m assuming that there will be some kind of agreement with the city, and anybody else that wants to join on, to partake in the cost of this,” said Joe Lightfoot, St. Lawrence County legislator
County officials say several local communities have renewed their interest in consolidating police dispatch. However, communities contacted Tuesday by 7 News would not confirm that.
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