Discord has arisen recently over consolidation of emergency dispatch services, particularly as it regards small towns using the Sanford Regional Communications, and unfortunately most of it seems to be based on hearsay.
Beginning this spring, both Arundel and Kennebunk selectmen as well as fire department personnel have publicly voiced concerns about dropped calls and poor service at Sanford, without providing any factual basis for their claims. As Arundel considers where to have their emergency dispatch, Town Manager Todd Shea has said money, not service quality, is the crux of the issue. However, the dialogue keeps getting more and more personal. Arundel Selectman Mark Paulin even referred to Sanford’s work as “crappy service” at a recent selectmen’s meeting.
It’s understandable that people can get emotional about whether or not an ambulance or fire truck shows up to the right place in a timely fashion when called ”“ after all, lives are at stake in every instance. It is serious business. But there is no need for public officials to bash the services in another town without providing facts that show the service does not meet reasonable standards.
Many oppose dispatch and PSAP consolidation on principle, stating that dispatchers down in Sanford, for example, won’t know the intricacies of a town like Old Orchard Beach, whether it’s a nickname for a town landmark or an obscure street. While those concerns are valid, technology is helping to overcome those deficiencies ”“ and frankly, cost concerns are dictating consolidation in a central hub, ending the days of having your neighbors send the ambulance to your house.
With consolidation efforts underway, it’s not helpful to anyone to have unsubstantiated accusations bantered about, which is why we’re glad Sanford Town Manager Mark Green took the time recently to visit both towns’ boards to defend the Sanford Regional Communications.
Green acknowledged that dispatchers have been working overtime, due to the delay while other staff are undergoing training, and said there have been some technical issues with equipment that have been fixed, but ”“ with the exception of going online July 4 in Old Orchard Beach ”“ a call has never been “dropped.” Certainly, those are short-term issues and the center has a competent new interim director in Raymond Parent, a former Biddeford and Sanford fire chief, who seems more than up for the job of addressing such concerns.
Sanford Regional Communications is quite new. It should be taken into consideration that they will need time to focus on building up trained staffers and work out issues with new equipment before being simply written off and publicly denigrated.
Currently, both Arundel and Kennebunk use Sanford Regional Communications as their PSAP, which then sends emergency 911 calls to Kennebunk dispatch. Both towns must choose a new dispatch center, however, since Kennebunk will close its facility in October in response to the statewide consolidation effort.
Last year, the legislature enacted a resolve to reduce the number of PSAPs statewide from 26 to 17, with Sanford proposed as the PSAP for York County. Now Sanford Regional Communications handles services for 14 different agencies, having most recently taken on Old Orchard Beach on June 1. The expectation is that it will handle the service for all York County communities in the future, though no deadline has been set, and the plan is not cast in stone.
Biddeford is an option ”“ and a cheaper one at that ”“ for both towns’ dispatch, and while the decision is Arundel and Kennebunk’s to make, money is usually the deciding factor in any municipal decision. That said, we would encourage both towns to focus on the facts and figures, not rumors and allegations, as they choose a new dispatch provider. The decision should be made not based on politics, but on the best arrangement for the community, both for public safety and for taxpayers’ wallets.
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