It appears calls to the Oxford Fire Department will continue to be handled by the Oxford Village Police dispatch center at a significantly lower cost to the township.
After reviewing proposals for dispatch service from the village police and Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, the Oxford Public Fire and EMS Commission Dec. 17 voted unanimously to “accept” the village’s proposal at the reduced first-year cost of $50,400 “beginning Jan. 1, 2004 with the understanding that the contract can be ended with four months notice.”
The $50,400 price represents a 24.776 percent discount (which was rounded up to 25 percent) over the $67,000 per year the township has been paying for village dispatch.
Council voted Nov. 20 to give the township a “good faith” 25 percent discount if the dispatch contract with OPFEC was renewed.
However, included in OPFEC’s approval was language stating the “total cost” of fire/EMS dispatch would now be paid by the safety authority, not the township as in the previous agreement.
Payment by OPFEC means the bill for dispatch would be split between the township and village according to percentages based on each community’s total State Equalized Value.
According to Commissioner and township Treasurer Joe Ferrari, that percentage split for 2004 will be 83.01 percent for the township and 16.99 percent for the village.
So for fire/EMS dispatch service, the township would pay $41,837 and the village $8,563.
In essence, the township actually received a 37.56 percent discount ($25,163) over what it was previously paying.
“We just saved the township over $25,000 a year. That’s what I call a deal,” said OPFEC Chairman and township Supervisor Bill Dunn after the meeting. “I’m a happy camper.”
Although four of the OPFEC members who voted to accept the new dispatch agreement and payment split were village council members – Steve Allen, George Del Vigna, Dave Bailey and Matt Weber – it must still go before council for its approval at the Dec.23 meeting.
“Any change or alteration from the original intent must be addressed and approved by council” explained Allen, noting OPFEC is a “separate entity from the village and township.”
When council originally proposed the $50,400 fire/EMS dispatch price, it was with the intent the township would continue paying 100 percent of the cost as before.
Given a majority of council has already approved the new agreement as members of OPFEC, Allen was asked if village officials could change their minds at the council meeting.
“The possibility always exists that officials could change their minds,” Allen said. “Speaking strictly for myself, I do not plan on changing my mind on this – what is stated in one venue should continue to the next.”
Allen said the additional $8,563 dispatch cost to the village “will be paid from our fire funds,” if council approves the new agreement.
The $41,837 dispatch price the township will pay in 2004 for village dispatch ended up being slightly cheaper than the cost of switching to county.
The cost of county for 2004 was stated as $20,706 for the base cost plus $6,420 for phone lines. But when the $50,000-$100,000 setup costs (as estimated by LeRoy) were factored in, county’s price for 2004 was $42,126.
Oxford Fire Chief Jack LeRoy remained firmly committed to staying with village dispatch. “I still think local (dispatch) is the best way to go,” LeRoy told OPFEC members. Village dispatch provides the “quickest turnaround time,” which is the “most important issue,” according to the chief.
Turnaround time is the time elapsed between when an emergency call is received and when fire/EMS personnel are dispatched to the scene.
It was stated during the meeting that village dispatch’s average turnaround time for emergency calls is 38 seconds whereas the county dispatch’s is 1 minute, 13 seconds.
Oxford Village Police Chief Mike Neymanowski informed OPFEC officials of a choking incident at Kalloway’s Restaurant and Pub last week in which EMS personnel arrived on the scene 62 seconds after the call came in to village dispatch.
Neymanowski stressed that beyond “all the gadgets,” it’s the nine people who “sit behind the counsel that make up dispatch.”
“They all have a commitment and care for this community,” said the chief, who noted the difference between county and local dispatch is “right here” as he pointed to his heart.
Neymanowski said his dispatchers don’t have to rely on computers to find places because they “know the community…they know the landmarks and buildings,” which is a “very strong advantage.”
Surprisingly, it was Commissioner and township Trustee Jerry Dywasuk, a vocal “I still think local (dispatch) is the best way to go,” LeRoy said. “We get the quickest turnaround times.
Surprisingly, it was Commissioner and township Trustee Jerry Dywasuk, a longtime proponent of contracting with county dispatch, who made the motion to accept the village’s proposal.
Dywasuk explained that it was “not the right time” to accept a new dispatch proposal given the township is in the process of trying to end OPFEC and form a township owned and operated fire department.
The trustee said he’d rather let the end of OPFEC “play out” and look at the dispatch issue at a later date, “outside” township-village politics.
“I don’t think the village council would ever agree to go with Oakland County dispatch,” said Dywasuk, referring to the present OPFEC political structure, which would require approval from its village members for such an action.
Despite his motion to stay with village dispatch, Dywasuk made his position absolutely clear – “I believe Oakland County dispatch is the way to go.”