North Dakota County Dispatch System Debated
The Bismarck Tribune
Burleigh County and Bismarck’s offer for Morton County and Mandan to use the city-county computer-aided dispatch system seems like a simple and inexpensive option to improving emergency location services and swapping data among the four entities.
Yet, questions about timing, turf and technology across the river may have slowed the process.
The Burleigh County Commission approved the initial concept on Dec. 2. Both the Morton County and Mandan City commissions tabled action, saying they want to wait to clarify what computer software and equipment are needed to match those across the river and if it makes more sense to wait until all the Mandan entities can benefit at the same time
Mandan Fire Chief Steve Nardello wants the dispatch service so firefighters know whether fire station No. 1 or fire station No. 2 should respond to a blaze and what fire trucks should respond. He said it will only cost $15,000 to get the fire department and ambulance calls for Mandan on the system, compared to a $250,000 cost for a new system.
The trouble is the Mandan Police Department cannot integrate with the Burleigh-Bismarck system at the same time that the Mandan Fire Department wants to. The Mandan Police Department’s records management system is too old and won’t work with Burleigh County’s system or any system, according to Nardello. The Mandan Police Department expects to have a new records system that would match with either a state computer-aided dispatch system or the Burleigh-Bismarck system in April. The Mandan Fire Department’s records management system is compatible with the Burleigh County-Bismarck dispatch system.
The Mandan City Commission split on the vote to table the matter until Tuesday. City Commissioner Sandra Tibke and Mayor Arlyn Van Beek voted no. They want the Burleigh system be used now for the fire department and emergency services.
Tibke also would like the law enforcement portion of the dispatch system to work as soon as possible and wants a deadline set to integrate them.
Other city commissioners favored waiting until all the county-city emergency responders could tie into the system at once.
Nardello said some fear that the Mandan-based dispatch system will end if the Burleigh-Bismarck system is used. “The fear is if we combine with Bismarck’s and not get our own, we won’t have control,” he said. And some fear “this could be the start of combining our two dispatch centers and somebody would be out of a job,” he said.
City commissioners also have some reservations about starting the Mandan Fire Department and ambulance service on the dispatch system first because dispatchers would have to log onto the system first and then later into the police reports. Extra training would be needed for the Mandan-Morton dispatchers between now and April. When both police and fire systems are on board, that would not be needed, Nardello said.
Morton County Commissioner Andy Zachmeier voted Tuesday against using the Bismarck-based computer-aided dispatch system. He has used it as a police officer and said it often locks up and frustrates firefighters or law enforcement officers.
Zachmeier said the actual cost would be $74,000 if all Mandan-Morton emergency entities use it.
“We haven’t even opened our 2014 budget and they want us to amend it,” Zachmeier said. He said the dispatch system and exchanging information should have been pursued years ago and the request for the service should have come up during 2014 budget sessions.
Nardello said he started studying the Bismarck-based dispatch system when the city budget approved staff for Mandan Fire Station No. 2.
Testifying in favor of the dispatch system Tuesday were Mandan Police Chief Dennis Bullinger, Nardello, Morton County Emergency Manager Tom Doering and Burleigh County/Bismarck Combined Communications Center Director Mike Dannenfelzer.
While Morton County, Mandan and Burleigh officials said the agreement could lead to a combined dispatch system in the future, Mandan’s use of the Burleigh system would not be a merger, according to Morton County Commission Chairman Bruce Strinden. He said it would be a cost-sharing agreement to quicken ambulance and firefighter response time in Mandan. Strinden said if the system is approved, Morton County would pay its share from its 911 fee revenue collected from residents’ monthly phone bills. Strinden said the county is being cautious because it doesn’t want to spend a lot of money on a system if it doesn’t work.
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