By Irma Widjojo, Vallejo Times Herald
Vallejo, Calif. — Vallejo and Benicia public safety departments have decided against consolidating their dispatch centers, officials said.

Talk of consolidation began a year ago, Vallejo Fire Chief Doug Robertson said.

The initial plan was to transfer all fire calls from Vallejo to Benicia, thereby freeing the Vallejo dispatch center to handle only police calls, Benicia Police Department spokesman Lt. Mike Daley said.

Now, the cities have separate dispatch centers, each handling both police and fire calls.

However, after a year-long discussion, all agencies decided that the consolidation would not be cost efficient, Daley said.

The plan would have resulted in a six-fold increase in the volume of fire calls routed to Benicia dispatchers, Benicia police officials said in August. Benicia gets about 2,000 calls annually; Vallejo, 12,000.

“We have analyzed it from every angle,” Daley said. “We don’t think we have the adequate staffing to handle Vallejo fire department calls and keep the quality of service.”

Vallejo has 14, down from 23 just two years ago. Benicia has 10 dispatchers.

Daley said Benicia would have to hire more dispatchers to handle the large call volume from Vallejo. Otherwise, “it will just overwhelm our dispatch center,” he added.

“Sadly, none of the four agencies have adequate funding available to contribute to the recruitment, hiring, selection and training of additional staff at this time nor the immediate means to invest in the various technologies to ease such a transition today,” Vallejo Police Department Cpt. Lori Lee said.

However, the Vallejo Fire Department is still looking into other alternatives.

“Because of our cutbacks, we need to do more with less,”Robertson said.

Robertson said the current system is inefficient since a fire engine and an ambulance are often sent to a call, regardless of the need.

“The current dispatchers are overwhelmed with police activities calls. They don’t have the time to get more details for fire calls,” he said.

One option that both fire departments are looking into is having a separate dispatch center, Robertson added.

However, they have not worked out the details and do not know how much the new dispatch center would cost both departments, he said.

Tabling the consolidation plan does not mean Vallejo will stop looking for another agency with which to merge, Vallejo police’s Lee said.

“All of the Solano County agencies are continuing various discussions as to the possibilities of some sort of consolidated dispatching model in the future,” she said.

About the Author

Contact staff writer Irma Widjojo at 707/553-6835 or iwidjojo@timeseheraldonline.com.

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