KALAMAZOO, MI -- Voters may have to decide if a surcharge increase on phone numbers from 42 cents to $2.30 per month is worth a singular emergency dispatch center in Kalamazoo County.

Emergency dispatch services are currently conducted out of five public safety answering points across Kalamazoo County. A 42-cent monthly surcharge imposed on any phone line or smart device able to call 911 supplements funding from public entities, but county voters could be asked to fund the service themselves when the five dispatch operations merge.

Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority Executive Director Jeff Troyer presented a plan to fund the authority with the surcharge to the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners at its Nov. 15 meeting. The board will decide at its Dec. 6 meeting whether to put it on the May ballot.

With the financial burden off local municipalities, Troyer said local governments would be able to reallocate money put toward emergency dispatch toward other things.

It would be up to residents to decide if newly available funds and the benefits of consolidated dispatch are worth an almost 450 percent surcharge increase. Each phone would cost $27.60 a year.

"People at least need to be able to make a decision based on what they will get in return of paying an increase in the surcharge," Troyer said. "The idea is that public safety will be enhanced as a result, and that is critical. We really need to take advantage of the technology to improve the public safety of our county."

The five public entities involved are: the cities of Kalamazoo and Portage, Kalamazoo County, Kalamazoo Township and Western Michigan University, all of which have their own dispatchers.

It cost $5.56 million to operate five public safety answering points in Kalamazoo County last year.

Kalamazoo County paid $1.07 million; the city of Kalamazoo paid $2.26 million; Portage paid $1.17 million; Kalamazoo Township paid $551,563 and WMU paid $503,280. The surcharge increase would generate around $5.8 million each year; enough to keep the authority sustainable up to 2022.

If the authority launches in 2018 as scheduled, it's estimated to save $280,101 by consolidating services into a single location. By 2022, it is estimated to save $1.4 million total.

Kalamazoo County Sheriff Rick Fuller hopes to spend $2.4 million for new patrol deputies and corrections officers, partially financed with money that would become available after the activation of the Consolidated Dispatch Center.

In addition to reducing long-term costs, the consolidation has other benefits.

Undersheriff Paul Matyas said the number one benefit of consolidating dispatch into once location is efficiency.

"If something happens in the city of Kalamazoo and the person goes home to Portage and decides to report it, they get Portage police," Matyas said. "(With consolidation), no matter how close to you are to a jurisdictional line it won't make a difference."

Troyer said the process of receiving a call to sending a first responder will be streamlined by eliminating the need to transfer calls to another jurisdiction. A central location will answer all 911 calls originating in Kalamazoo County.

"It doesn't matter what jurisdiction it is, all information will go into a central point," Troyer said. "Everyone being in same room under the same roof knowing what is going on at the same time will improve efficiency."

Sandie Gieber has worked out of the Portage Department of Public Safety PSAP for 18 years. She said dispatchers who cover local jurisdictions in local departments are able to have a stronger relationship with police and residents.

Dispatchers have access to computer mapping resources, but Gieber said knowledge of local landmarks and quirky side roads can be helpful when residents describe their surroundings in terms of what used to exist in place of a new business.

The Portage dispatch center responds to between 2,300 and 2,500 calls each month. Dispatchers work closely with officers, and perform some administrative tasks that would need to be replaced if staff moves to a new location.

As an organization solely dedicated to providing 911 services, Troyer said the authority can focus on increasing staff training and keeping up-to-date with changing technology.



The authority intends to implement a text to 911 service and install an IP-based next-generation network in anticipation of a statewide transition.

The Portage Department of Public Safety has one of the best dispatch centers in the area, said Senior Deputy Chief Daniel Mills. It's already capable of using next-generation technology -- it could make the switch tomorrow if legislators voted to move Michigan in that direction -- but Mills said standardizing practices would benefit many of the small county fire departments that respond to situations differently.

Having all dispatchers equally trained across the county is one of the authority's biggest benefits, according to Fuller.

Some Kalamazoo County commissioners were hesitant to support the proposed phone surcharge increase after Troyer presented the plan at the board's Nov. 15 meeting.

Board Chair John Taylor noted the county's municipal governments have been trying for decades to consolidate police, fire and EMS dispatching from a central location. Kalamazoo County is one of five counties in the state that does not have consolidated dispatch centers.

"This is a safety issue," said Commissioner Julie Rogers. "We owe it to (our constituents) to have seamless 911 and right now they do not. There are situations where care is delayed. If we choose to do this we are allowing the voting population to make voting decisions."

Any phone line able to call 911 would be charged, but businesses with multiple lines receive a discount. The first 10 lines would be charged $2.30 per number, and each additional 10 lines charged $2.30 total per month.