Crime & Safety

Details Released About Shared Police Dispatching System Between County and Fanwood

Union County submitted the information below to Patch on Friday.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders released information Friday about its progress toward establishing the shared public safety dispatch system between Union County and the Borough of Fanwood. 

Mayor Colleen Mahr discussed the new program at the council meeting Tuesday night, stating that the borough had been selected as the pilot for the county program, which will transfer all of Fanwood's dispatching — police, fire and EMS — to the county's public safety center in Westfield. The program will completely delete the dispatching line item in Fanwood's police budget.

According to the news release from the county on Friday, the arrangement will result in savings for Fanwood of almost $230,000 over its first three years.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"This new shared service agreement accomplishes the best of both worlds, which is to cut costs for a local government, while continuing to improve services that benefit all Union County residents," Freeholder Chairman Daniel P. Sullivan stated in the release.

Once the shared system is in place, the Union County Police Dispatching Center will serve as the call center for Fanwood. Fanwood Police and EMS will also have the option of using the county's radio system. Transition to the shared system will begin in May and will be fully operational by mid-September, according to the county's news release.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The county will also host Fanwood's records management system using the county's upgraded software, and host the GPS tracking program for Fanwood police vehicles.

To offset the cost of additional staff at the dispatching center, Fanwood will reimburse the county through an annual fee.  The fee is significantly less than Fanwood's current costs for operating its own dispatch system.

The Freeholder Board voted to approve the shared dispatch plan on April 22, and then the Fanwood Council will take up the measure.


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