By STEVE HUSZAI, Staff Writer, Daily Record (Wooster, Ohio)

WOOSTER — Information was flowing from city and county officials Tuesday night regarding attempts to regionalize dispatching services. But when pressed about specifics, village and township officials left the meeting with questions unanswered.

The meat of the meeting concerned background information and the situation as it exists regarding dispatching services within the Wayne County PSAP (public safety answering point).

Wooster Fire Chief Rob Eyler explained the issue of a possible consolidated dispatch center was discussed between himself and other area fire chiefs.

Due to the loss of local governmental funds, and the phaseout of 911 wireless revenue, will squeeze municipalities who fund dispatch services.

“The current model is unsustainable,” Eyler said. This sentiment was widely recognized during the meeting. Several officials representing smaller cities, villages and departments commented that Wooster should not have to subsidize dispatching services for others in the Wayne County PSAP.

Wayne County Commissioner Ann Obrecht provided a handout of the current funding method within the Wayne County PSAP.

For 2011, Obrecht showed actual costs for dispatch was $1.3 million. Of this, $509,787 was billed to the city of Wooster, with the remainder covered by the county.

An additional $50,000 was received through wireless 911 funds. But Obrecht pointed out this revenue is set to sunset this year.

And finally, a total of $26,141 was collected from the remaining entities using the Wayne County PSAP. These include Apple Creek, Creston, Marshallville, Mount Eaton, Shreve, Smithville, West Salem police departments; and Paint Township, Apple Creek, South Central/ Fredericksburg, Central/Smithville, Wooster Township, Shreve, Chester Township/New Pittsburg, Town and Country/West Salem, and Canaan Township fire departments/EMS.

Wayne County Sheriff, Wooster Police and Fire, and Wayne County EMA are also served through this PSAP.

Using 2010 dispatched calls (43,173), this would equal the cost per call of $31.97.

Adding in calls from the city of Ashland, Obrecht’s chart shows reducing the cost per call to $22.88.

It was for these reasons why the cities of Wooster and Ashland, and Wayne County decided to commission a feasibility study with Cleveland State University to see whether a consolidated dispatch center was possible.

The study attempted to answer a few questions, like is a consolidated study feasible, would it save money, would it maintain or improve services, and is it legal to form a consolidated center.

It was completed in November.

Other portions of the study analyzed forms of governance of a consolidated study and used data from a handful of consolidated centers already in existence in the state of Ohio.

The earliest consolidated dispatch center was formed in 1963.

The study, Eyler told the crowd, looked at three scenarios: consolidating Wooster, Wayne County, and Ashland; Wooster, Wayne County, Ashland, Rittman PSAP and Orrville PSAP; and the aforementioned entities with Ashland County Sheriff’s Office.

Orrville’s PSAP dispatches for Orrville police and fire, Dalton police and fire, Kidron fire, and Marshallville fire.

Rittman’s PSAP dispatches for Rittman police and fire, Doylestown police, Chippewa Township Fire, and Sterling fire.

The study concluded a consolidated center is feasible, would save money, and is legally possible. A general takeaway from the study (available on the city of Wooster’s website) is the more entities take part, the greater the savings.

“It’s new, it’s different, and it’s a challenge … but in our worlds that is how it is these days,” Bob Breneman, mayor of Wooster, told the audience.

Everyone who took to the podium from Wooster, Ashland, and Wayne County, told their peers the process is meant to be democratic. They also wished for those entities involved with consolidation to voice their concerns and help form the center.

When questions were asked about funding, what form of governance a consolidated center would take, and how a “call for service” would be calculated, the answer given to the village and township officials was to “be a part of the process” and “help figure out what it will look like.”

“We are being forced to evolve,” Wooster law director Richard Benson said. “But this is intended to be a democratic process, and is not meant to exclude anyone and meet the needs of all participants. These things are not free and if you participate you have a better chance to control your costs.”

Estimated savings for the city of Wooster in the study range from $200,000 to $300,000. Wayne County would see similar savings through consolidation.

The city of Ashland could see an estimated $100,000 to $200,000 in annual savings, according to the study.

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