The Saratoga Town Council has some tough decisions ahead of them regarding the Saratoga Police Department’s communication center.
For years, decades even, Saratoga has maintained its own dispatch center. Not only has it dispatched for its own police department, but for the Encampment Police Department and the volunteer fire departments in Saratoga and Encampment. In the past, any suggestion of communications operating elsewhere was almost immediately rejected. Yet, what’s long felt like a necessity seems to have turned into a luxury, especially when one considers the recent report given by Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris.
At the January 16 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Morris told the governing body the communications center was at a crossroads as it was faced with staffing and infrastructure issues. While the dispatch center received newer radio consoles last year from the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, those consoles were already five years past their end-of-life according to both Morris and Sheriff Alex Bakken.
Further, the cost of updated equipment for Saratoga’s dispatch could be as much as $750,000. That’s on top of the annual budget of the police department, which at $1 million is about one-third of the Town of Saratoga’s general fund. As Morris himself pointed out, that equipment would be obsolete in less than a decade. Even if the Town could find the funds needed for upgraded equipment, there still needs to be staff to operate it.
Staff, or lack thereof, has seriously strained the communications for our local police department. Morris told the town council that full-time dispatchers have worked multiple days in a row without time off and officers have had to dispatch in some situations. The situation, it appears, is unsustainable as, in Morris’ own words, “we are truly one power bump or one illness away from not being able to keep the door’s open 24/7.”
It goes without saying that this is unacceptable for the communities involved.
At the same meeting, both Morris and Bakken proposed a combined dispatch where the Town of Saratoga would contract with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office. This was a proposal which was supported at the meeting by the Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department, the Encampment Fire Volunteer Department and the Encampment Police Department.
It is also a proposal that the Saratoga Sun supports.
It’s not an easy pill to swallow, to be sure. Sue Jones, Carbon County Commission Chairperson, perhaps said it best when she said the Valley residents are “turffy” people, or that we are very protective of our own sandboxes. In rural communities like ours, individualism is something that is highly regarded and we take pride in handling tough issues ourselves. Yet, as Jones said, we cannot take the lone ranger approach anymore. It’s time for an alternative solution.
We applaud Morris for his leadership of the Saratoga Police Department since his appointment and working to find ways to keep his department’s communication center running. Though the chief said he considered it a personal failure in being unable to staff dispatch, we do not see it that way. The fact of the matter is, the Saratoga Police Department is facing the same issues as businesses and organizations in the Valley are. It is not only difficult to find people to work but it is just as difficult to find housing for those who want to move here for work.
We also applaud Bakken for helping Morris make the case for why and how a combined dispatch may be the best thing for Saratoga. In previous conversations, the most pressing concern has been that of current Saratoga dispatchers and their employment. According to Bakken, his office would look to onboard any current Saratoga dispatch employees, recognizing the skill set they have and the training they have received.
In a perfect world, the Town of Saratoga could easily afford nearly $1 million in new communication equipment and have the people to operate it. In a perfect world, we would not be one illness or one powerbump away from our local dispatch being unable to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The reality of the situation is that we must find an alternative. One that means anyone making an emergency call will have it answered and will ultimately save taxpayer money.
A decision has not been made one way or the other on this issue, yet. Mayor Chuck Davis was very clear on the need for public meetings before any decision was made, something the Sun also supports. The Saratoga Sun encourages all Saratoga residents to attend future meetings of the Saratoga Town Council to express their opinions, whether they are for a combined dispatch or not.
The Saratoga Town Council meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Saratoga Town Hall.
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