What Happened?
The city of Flint, Michigan, recently received a $1.8 million grant to implement a communications tower to improve communications to police and fire departments. While the funding will help resolve a lack of consistent radio coverage in the region, the tower may be the first step toward dispatch consolidation between the city and county departments.
The Goal
In the next five years, the communication tower is expected to save Flint taxpayers nearly $5.4 million by enabling a consolidation of dispatch operations in Genesee County. Within the next 12 months, city officials hope to take more steps toward the merger of dispatch systems, building off of the funding project for the communications tower provided by the state.
What The Changes Mean
The new communications tower is part of an overarching strategy to improve 911 systems within the county. Flint was removed from the county’s 911 consortium in 1995 when officials developed a different system to dispatch emergency services. However, the community’s combined center proved to be more cost-effective, and Flint is making adjustments to rejoin the consortium and work toward consolidation.
According to Flint’s application for the grant, merging dispatch systems with the county could save Flint about $4.1 million within a few years, and about $313,772 each year due to a transition to shared equipment and operational expenses.
Consolidate Dispatch Systems Efficiently
In a recent study from the Center for Public Management out of Cleveland State University, researchers analyzed various case studies to determine what steps are required when merging public safety dispatch centers to reduce costs and make better use of public resources. Looking at consolidation efforts in the city of Parma, the report identified some common challenges facing municipalities during the integration of employees, resources and services, as well as after the project has been completed. Based on the experiences of Parma public employees involved, the study offered several recommendations including:
- Examine what other municipalities have tried when consolidating dispatch services to avoid common mistakes
- Start consolidation with a comprehensive strategy, governance structure, set of achievable goals and communication channels to make the transition easy and support strong
- Utilize all resources and manpower to brainstorm best practices and innovate on how to launch the project
- Designate a director to oversee all consolidation logistics early to ensure procedures and policies are consistent and understood throughout
- Make expectations, costs and other information transparent to all parties involved to increase accountability and support
- Inform employees of stages of consolidation and address any concerns as they arise
- Collect employee feedback to gauge effectiveness of strategies and combat problems as soon as possible
- Collaborate to determine pay scales and employee benefits packages that fit the budgets of all entities while maintaining staff satisfaction
- Launch a standard hiring process to staff the consolidated facility to find the best candidates
- Train existing and new employees alike on the latest technology, policies and procedures
Taking the time to ensure each stage is completed accurately can reduce problems in the long-term and help communities realize return on investment faster.
Other Consolidation Successes
Gov1 has stayed abreast of the latest efficient efforts that involve the sharing of personnel as well as services to the public.