Crime & Safety

Gates Mills Consolidates Dispatch Operations With Chagrin Valley

The village will save $200,000 by joining Chagrin Valley Dispatch

In less than two weeks, emergency calls in Gates Mills will be fielded by a regional entity.

By 10 a.m. on Aug. 5, emergency callers will speak to an operator at the Chagrin Valley Dispatch, a nine-community consortium of nearby communities that Gates Mills has joined to save about $200,000 in 2014, Police Chief Ron Whitmer said.

The move represents a consolidation at Town Hall and the elimination of four full-time dispatch jobs and three part-time ones. One of those employees has already agreed to a job in Beachwood.

Another full-timer will take on a newly created position, Police and Town Hall coordinator. That person will be answering village lines, accepting walk-ins and handling clerical work like tickets. A current, part-time dispatcher will perform the same role on a part-time basis.

Two more part-timers will continue working for Gates Mills on a fill-in basis.

"That was probably the most painful part of this," the chief said. "We're hoping to see everyone placed in a role that can keep them happy."

The other members of Chagrin Valley Dispatch are Bentleyville, Chagrin Falls Township, Chagrain Falls Village, Hunting Valley, Orange Village, South Russell, Woodmere Village, Moreland Hills and Orange Village. The 

Whitmer praised the work of current dispatchers, but said it would be cost-prohibitive for the village to try to keep up with current technology in emergency dispatch. By joining Chagrin Valley, Gates Mills should have a better shot at securing state and federal grants to aid the cost of training, use of the Marcs Radio System and possibly surveillance streaming technology.

"We really believe that by doing this, we're enhancing the dispatch services for our residents," Whitmer said. "We can come together and purchase this great technology for our residents."

University Hospitals has provided an empty, 6,000-square-foot space in the basement of Bedford Hospital to the dispatch center for $1 per year.


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