Mayfield could save $340,000 by joining Cuyahoga County 911 dispatch center

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Police Chief Richard Edelman (left) and Fire Chief Eugene Carcioppolo answer questions from council about Mayfield's plans for a regional 911 dispatch center.

(Sara Dorn, Northeast Ohio Media Group)

MAYFIELD, Ohio — Mayfield village could save up to $340,000 next year by joining the Cuyahoga County Emergency Communications System's 911 dispatch center, the cheapest of the four options for regional consolidation Mayor Bruce Rinker presented to Council Monday.

Rinker's presentation marked the village's first public discussion about a dispatch merger in at least a year, as suburbs throughout Cuyahoga County join 911 services, part of a state- and county-wide push for fewer centers.

Village Fire Chief Eugene Carcioppolo and Police Chief Richard Edelman were nearing a deal in December with Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights and Richmond Heights to form a 911 hub in Mayfield village.

Plans were halted when the village received proposals from Cuyahoga County and another from the Chagrin Valley center to join their facilities. Edelman said the other three communities received the same offer.

Fire and police employees, especially dispatchers, are hesitant about the decision and worry callers won't receive the same personal attention at the multi-city centers.

"Most residents like the warm and fuzzy feeling that when they call [dispatch], it's their own taking care of them," Council President Thomas Marrie said. "Most people who have called me have said they don't want to lose that personal or fast or really outstanding service we have now."

Highland Heights was among the communities considering merging with Mayfield, but has decided to wait, Police Chief James Cook said, as regional dispatch is in its infancy.

"We provide a lot of local services here. My dispatchers have saved a couple people from heart attacks, delivered babies, so I'm not real comfortable pulling out," Cook said. "I don't think we will get an improvement in services. We will get a cost savings."

Money isn't an issue for Mayfield — the village has over $11 million in reserves in its general fund — but Edelman said he prefers to be one of the first to make the switch.

"The benefit of acting in the near future is we will be on the ground floor and see how the facility is opened," he said.

Here's a breakdown of the options Rinker presented to council:

Chagrin Valley Dispatch: This center, which opened in Bedford in July, handles 911 calls for 12 east-side suburbs, including Gates Mills, Highland Hills, Woodmere and Chagrin Falls Township. Mayfield predicts it would cost $65,000 initially to join the center. Annual operating expenses from 2015 through 2017 are estimated at $164,346.

Cuyahoga County: The county system, called CECOMS, already handles 911 cell-phone calls for communities. The county recently announced it would expand its services to dispatch and build a new center in Broadview Heights. Olmsted Township was the first community to sign up in September.

The facility is expected to be completed in the spring of 2016, and the village would move in in the fall, Rinker said.

County service would cost the village $168,000 per year if Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights and Richmond Heights also joined. Without the other three cities, the village would pay $200,000.

The Chagrin Valley Center is $4,000 less annually than CECOMS, but the $65,000 in capital costs to join Chagrin Valley makes it more expensive overall.

Mayfield joint dispatch : Anticipating regionalization, the village left room for a joint dispatch center when it rebuilt its police department. A Mayfield center would cost $253,725 to build and $224,283 in the following years.

Other Hillcrest communities who belong to the Suburban Police Anti-Crime Network could join, though the option is unlikely, since is more expensive than CECOMS, Rinker said.

Lyndhurst joint dispatch: Mayfield and Lyndhurst would merge services in Lyndhurst under this plan. The Lyndhurst center would cost Mayfield $77,091 to join, and $253,000 annually.

No action: Mayfield has five full-time and three part-time dispatchers with an annual budget of about $500,000. Dispatch is also budgeting an additional $400,000 for radio upgrades this year.

The center handles 11,000 calls per year.

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