Dean Narciso, The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)

Four Columbus suburbs will spend more than $50,000 in state grants to study the feasibility of merging their 911 dispatching operations.

The money is from the Local Government Innovation Fund, which aims to encourage local governments to find ways to share services after state-funding cuts.

It will be matched by a combined $30,000 from the participating cities: Dublin, Hilliard, Upper Arlington and Worthington.

Officials have been discussing consolidations for more than a year.

“I think it’s a very high probability that you’ll start to see the merger of some of these radio rooms, maybe not all at once,” said Hilliard Police Chief Doug Francis. “All of us have identified that this is a very valuable prospect. You’ve got a lot of motivated chiefs and city administrations.”

Merging operations also could affect neighboring townships.

Hilliard and Dublin dispatch fire and police calls for Norwich, Brown and Washington townships.

Worthington dispatches for Sharon Township.

Upper Arlington and Worthington have their own fire and police departments.

The study by the L.R. Kimball Co., of Ebensburg, Pa., will help the cities decide whether the savings in staffing and equipment are worth ceding local control to a centralized 911 center. It should be completed sometime this year.

Worthington, for example, has a budget of $1.2 million for 911 dispatching, slightly more than Hilliard’s $1.1 million; yet it serves fewer than half as many people.

“If you look at each district’s 911 operations, we are duplicating efforts,” said Worthington Police Chief Jim Mosic. “We’re excited about the potential. But there are a lot of unknowns and what-ifs.”

Upper Arlington City Councilman David DeCapua was surprised that the call center takes as few as seven calls a day, with its 911 calls handled by Franklin County. He thinks consolidation will save money.

But Hilliard’s Chief Francis cautions that savings alone should not be a priority.

“There may be downtime (when dispatchers aren’t busy). But if we have a fire that engulfs a house or a crash on the freeway, we have to have dispatchers on staff to handle that,” he said.

Francis also worries about loss of control if staffing is merged into a single center.

“Here, I’m the chief, and I can dictate how our radio room operates,” Francis said. “Under a regional system, you could lose some of that control.”

Cities also don’t want to compromise quality.

“It may be a minor concern to you and I, but to the person calling, it’s a big deal,” said Joe Valentino, Upper Arlington’s assistant city manager.

“This isn’t like trash service. We can’t afford the level of service to change. This is their lives and their safety,” he said.

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