After challenging Port Richey officials' decision to outsource police dispatching, opponents get the chance to keep it local.
By ALEX LEARY
Published April 10, 2004
PORT RICHEY - After months of study, contentious debate and litigation, the city's most pressing issue is going public: On Tuesday, voters will decide whether to keep police dispatch or contract the service from New Port Richey.
The City Council last year voted 3-2 to outsource dispatch but a group of citizens circulated a petition and got the issue on Tuesday's ballot, despite a court challenge by the city.
The ballot referendum asks whether the ordinance that eliminated dispatch should be repealed. So a "no" vote means you favor contracting with New Port Richey; a "yes" vote means you want local dispatch service.
No other issue in recent memory has been as dominant as the future of the Police Department, and it defines this year's election. The six City Council candidates are split on the issue. Dale Massad, an incumbent, Jim Carter and Tom Zedan support going with New Port Richey. Bill Bennett, also an incumbent, Fred Miller and Greg Ross want to retain dispatch.
Opponents of outsourcing dispatch fear it would be the first step in dissolving the entire Police Department, but supporters contend the sole motivation is to save money.
The city says the move will trim about $90,000 from the annual budget. Currently there are two full-time dispatchers and three part-time ones.
Mayor Eloise Taylor calls that savings estimate "totally bogus." She noted the study used to justify the move assumed dispatch could be contracted for just under $29,000.
But the estimate was way off. The proposed deal with New Port Richey is $93,000 annually, about $64,000 more than Matrix Consulting Group projected. Taylor said there also could be startup costs for computers or communication equipment.
Supporters of contracting wonder what the fuss is about because the mechanics would not change. A person in trouble or needing assistance still would pick up the phone to talk with a dispatcher, only now the dispatcher would be a few miles away in New Port Richey.
"We live in an electronic age which makes the location of the dispatch center insignificant," council member Phyllis Grae said.
Still, opponents say that argument ignores other factors, chiefly response time. New Port Richey already handles more calls than Port Richey and would take on more under a contract. The critics say that might mean Port Richey police could get a slower jump on a crime or traffic accident.
Some even suggest New Port Richey would handle its own cases first. "It is insulting that these people think New Port Richey would say, "Oh, here's a call from Port Richey, put them on the back burner,' " Grae said.
In its report, Matrix Consulting Group said during the busiest time of day, on average, you need about a third of a person for dispatch.
Port Richey Chief Bill Sager said fewer calls is not necessarily a bad thing because it means dispatchers do not have to prioritize as much. That improves response time, he said.
He pointed out that dispatchers do more than answer crime calls. They take emergency calls for the utility department, for example, and compile background for investigations.
Sager also said dispatchers develop a personal relationship with the community, and residents feel more comfortable calling to report suspicious activity.
Massad said the arguments against contracting do not hold up and run counter to national trend. "The entire county is dispatching centrally," he said. "Nobody dispatches out of a town of 3,000 people unless you like to waste money."
