MECHANICVILLE — The Mechanicville Police Department relinquished its decades-long 911 dispatching duties to Saratoga County this week.

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, callers in the city seeking emergency assistance are routed to the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office in Ballston Spa.

Dispatchers there then alert city police, firefighters and members of the John Ahearn Rescue Squad with information about emergencies. Previously, city police officers handled all the city's 911 calls from the North Main Street police station.

Mechanicville switched the service because its 911 system required a minimum of $180,000 in upgrades that the city can't afford, Mayor Anthony Sylvester said.

"It's not much of a change," Sylvester said. "There's really no delay in the call."

Last year, Mechanicville residents dialed 911 about 1,000 times, Sylvester said. The change will save the city money, Sylvester said, though the figure in unknown. The county dispatch service is funded in part by a monthly surcharge on all cell phone users in the county. It's unclear how the change will affect police staffing.

But Public Safety Commissioner Tim Hipwell said in an interview that he opposed the change. He said city police had performed 911 services for decades, and the system worked well.

"I have no problem with the county sheriff, but I think it would be faster to come through the city police department," Hipwell said. The new system was working fine on Wednesday, he said.

The county built a 911 call center in its sheriff's office in 2007. The $1.8 million facility has updated computer software, flat screens that reveal caller information, icons for active police units and phone numbers for public officials and police officers.

Saratoga County dispatches 911 calls for 24 of 27 of its municipalities. Only Saratoga Springs and the town and village of Waterford still manage their own calls, said Paul Lent, the county director of emergency services and 911 coordinator. Last year, county workers responded to nearly 77,000 911 calls, he said.

Saratoga Springs declined a chance to join the county 911 system in 2010. That's when its former finance commissioner said moving city dispatching to the county would save about $500,000 annually. But the former public safety commissioner opposed the change, and the city Police Benevolent Association argued that county dispatchers weren't familiar with the city's streets and home histories.

The change in Mechanicville will not be noticeable to users, Lent said. "They'll probably not even know the difference."

Mayor Sylvester said he believes new technology will assist county dispatchers in recognizing city addresses.

Reach Yusko at 454-5353 or dyusko@timesunion.com.