WEST CARROLLTON – Costs and staff shortages have West Carrollton considering dissolving its dispatch center, prompting concern about response times on future police and fire calls.

Officials are examining options – including joining the Montgomery County’s Regional Dispatch Center – as the city faces spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for required equipment upgrades to run its local dispatch center. It also has been dealing with staff shortages at its center and will continue to do so, according to West Carrollton Police Chief Doug Woodard.

Digital radio consoles mandated in 2016 and a 911 radio system upgrade are estimated to cost a combined $550,000, while the dispatch center has been understaffed since 2008 with retired officers helping to fill the void, according to the city.

“The decision comes down to whether we’re going to remain autonomous as far as our communication center is concerned or we’re going to consolidate with another dispatching entity,” Woodard said. “In the this case the most obvious choice would be the regional dispatch center for Montgomery County.”

Joining the county’s system is estimated to initially save about $389,400, he said, noting that future costs are unknown at this point.

Woodard said he also has examined the possibility of consolidating operations with other cities- such as Centerville, Englewood, Huber Heights and Moraine – which are not part of the regional dispatch center. Those options are not feasible, he said.

West Carrollton’s dispatch center averages about 25,000 to 30,000 annual calls for the police and about 2,200 for fire each year, according to Woodard. City officials have expressed uneasiness about joining with another entity, as they are worried about loss of local control and response times, which Woodard said are now within five minutes.

City Councilman Jim Bowers said he wants to avoid situations in which dispatchers are “essentially deciding whether your heart attack is a priority at that point and time.”

The effect that dissolving West Carrollton’s dispatch center would have on local response times is not certain at this point, Woodard said.

“I’m not 100 percent sure what impact overall it would have on services,” he said. “I know that there would be a learning curve associated with that because we would have dispatchers and call takers that aren’t familiar with our streets and with our landmarks and with our businesses and other entities within the city.

“So that might impact the level of service we would get – at least initially,” Woodard added. “And I would suspect that would subside over time- at least to some degree. But that would be the biggest impact on the level of service.”

The city is looking for input from residents before making a decision, which may come by the end of the year.

“Despite the potential for upfront savings if we switched to the regional center, local dispatch communications is an important customer service for our residents,” West Carrollton City Manager Brad Townsend said in information released by the city. “We are looking to the community to give us their feedback to help us make this decision.”

The city is encouraging residents to talk about the issue with city council members or call the West Carrollton Civic Center at 937-847-4633 to comment on the issue.