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By MEGHAN V. MALLOY
Staff Writer 01/14/2008

"Way ahead of schedule," Chief Sheriff's Deputy Everett Flannery said. "Things are going great with this."

Major work has included installing phone lines and high-speed Internet connections and training new dispatchers.

"The technology is pretty much set up," Flannery said. "Now we need to focus on training people."

County Administrator Robert Devlin said the smooth transition is thanks to county officials being "aggressive to stay ahead of schedule."

The county dispatch center will close Jan. 31, the result of a state law consolidating E-911 centers. Previous to the change, 21 entities were under the county's dispatch jurisdiction.

Devlin and Flannery said the old center could remain open an additional week or two if need be.

But officials are still aggressively aiming for the end of the month.

"We'd like to plan for the cutoff day before Jan. 31, so if a glitch arises, we can fix it and still have someone to take the calls," Devlin said.

All entities served by the county dispatch center have been sent a letter about public safety answering points, or PSAPs, Devlin said. The county will then perform an audit of all entities to ensure they have arranged for emergency services, either through the Central Maine Regional Communications Center or elsewhere.

The move to a regional 911 center has not always gone smoothly, especially among local fire chiefs and EMS workers.

Chelsea Fire Chief Shawn Ramage has been particularly vocal about the center's closing.

"We are looking at other options, I can tell you that," Ramage said recently. "If I'm going to spend money for services, I want to make sure it's worth it."

Ramage said he doesn't believe the regional center will provide subpar dispatch services, necessarily, but added "I know other people aren't happy with it."

"We don't have money appropriated for the next five months for dispatch service," he said. "I can't even contract the services out because the selectmen have to vote on it. We appropriated money toward the PSAPs and that's it."

Of the county center's closing, Ramage said "A lot of (fire departments and EMS workers) feel like we've been hung out to dry."

Mark Kimball, fire chief in Gardiner, has a different idea about the plan, saying the arrangement will be fairer financially in the long run.

"How many 911 centers do you need?" Kimball said. "I feel that it will be a fairer plan when it all balances out."

Kimball said he could certainly empathize with other chiefs who disagree with him. "Did this come at the wrong time? That very could be."

Still, he said, the key to the dissolution of the dispatch center is for EMS workers and firefighters to show patience with the transition.

"My feel is that once it's up and running and properly staffed, nobody will have a problem with it," Kimball said.

Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811 Ext. 431

mmalloy@centralmaine.com

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