Town and Country OKs Joint Emergency Dispatch Center

The Town and Country City Council voted to move forward on a new police dispatch center and funding Monday night. Other decisions including the 2011 city budget and pay raises could come as soon as the next meeting.

Despite the city of Glendale deciding not to participate in the West Central Dispatch Center Participation Agreement, the city council voted unanimously Monday to join Creve Coeur and Frontenac in moving forward and creating the combined dispatch center that will handle calls for all three police departments.

"Everybody's doing it on their own right now and we think we can work together to make it more effective for less dollars," Town and Country Mayor Jon Dalton explained.

Dalton said he's met with Ladue's mayor and is still hopeful more cities will join. "I don't think they've ruled it out, " he added.

Town and Country City Administrator and Police Chief John Copeland said the center will cost just over $1 million annually to operate, but it will save all three cities a combined total of $250,000. Copeland said Town and Country alone will see an annual savings of $30,000.

"More savings are expected in the future if and when we add additional cities, " Copeland said.

"We will continue to find strategic partners but this far, it is the three cities going forward," Dalton added.

Copeland and Dalton both say combining departments will also significantly improve police service to all three city's residents.

"It's about maintaining an advanced level of service," Dalton Said.

The combined dispatch center will be run out of , home to the police department's current dispatchers. Copeland said things will move quickly and the first board of directors meeting is Wednesday. The first day of operation is expected to be March 1.

Monday night the council also voted unanimously to appropriate the $55,000 donated by residents for deer management to the city's deer management fund. Combined with the $10,000 the city budgeted for 2010 (down from $150,000 in 2009) a total of $65,000 will go toward the sharpshooting and sterilization of deer this December.  

Cpt. Gary Hoelzer with the Town and Country Police Department says even though the Missouri Department of Conservation has given the city approval to kill 200 hundred deer and sterilize another 200, he doesn't think that many will be affected.

Another deer management development Monday night was the introduction of an ordinance to allocate funds for another deer census by White Buffalo, the company contracted to shoot and sterilize the deer. Initially the cost was estimated at $4,000 for the count, but the state conservation department has offered to use its personnel, which knocked nearly $2,ooo off the cost. The council is expected to vote on whether to allocate the new amount of $2,030 for a deer census at the next meeting, Dec. 13.

Ordinances approving the 2011 city budget, a 1 percent pay raise for all city employees and health care for city employees were was also introduced Monday night. No votes were taken. All will be open for discussion and likely voted on at the Dec. 13 council meeting. Check back here on Dec. 13 for a closer look at those proposals prior to the meeting.