Cost for Franklin County, Pasco to join dispatch center: $500,000

The dream of merging Franklin County’s emergency dispatch operations into Benton County’s Southeast Communications Center (SECOMM) is nearing reality after more than 10 years of discussions.

Franklin County and the city of Pasco would each make a one-time $500,000 capital contribution to join SECOMM as full voting partners, under a plan presented to the Benton County Emergency Services board recently by Steve Reinke, a Thorp-based expert in 911 dispatch operations.

The proposal is a prelude to a formal request from the Franklin side to join SECOMM. There is no schedule yet for that to happen, though both sides say discussions will continue. 911 consolidation is a standing agenda item for the monthly emergency services board meeting.

Pasco and Franklin County jointly hired Reinke in March to develop a “reasonable, fair and equitable” consolidation plan after years of discussions failed to lead to an agreement.

Reinke’s buy-in plan would, in effect, give Franklin County and Pasco ownership stakes in the existing SECOMM system and a vote in future decisions.

The two agencies previously balked at joining SECOMM as subscribers, saying they were unwilling to dissolve their own dispatch center without the security of having a say in decisions affecting the new one.

Franklin County Commissioner Brad Peck said the buy-in is reasonable and in the best interest of both sides.

“I think the key pieces that are necessary to getting us together are in the plan,” Peck said. “The important thing is to get this done now.”

Benton County Commission Chairman Shon Small called Reinke’s proposal “encouraging.”

“We’re definitely gong toward the right direction,” Small said.

Local law enforcement agencies and fire departments have pushed to consolidate 911 dispatch operations in the Tri-Cities for a decade. But paying for consolidation of a large, new system with a small, older one has been a challenge. Early hopes for a state-funded solution collapsed in 2015.

The rapid adoption of mobile phones lends greater urgency.

Cellular towers route mobile calls to the dispatch center nearest the tower, which often is not the dispatch center serving the caller’s physical location. By one estimate, as many as 5,000 calls per year go astray in the two-center system.

First responders say a single point of contact for the region would be more efficient, facilitate better communication between agencies and improve response times.

Franklin County faces added pressure. In the not-too-distant future, it will have to invest in upgrading the aging software and hardware of its computer-assisted dispatch equipment.

“We would like to make those investments in SECOMM instead,” Peck said.

In addition to paying the buy-in fee, Franklin County and its municipalities would pay costs associated with the consolidation process, including hiring new dispatchers for SECOMM prior to the merger, the cost to search for a new director, furniture to accommodate the increased staff and the cost to move or connect technical equipment.

All agencies that use the system would continue to pay annual fees for its operation. Benton County users — police departments, the sheriff’s department, fire districts and Columbia Basin Dive Rescue — could save more than $100,000 collectively per year by sharing administrative costs with their Franklin County peers.

Reinke’s proposal would retain the 56.7 full-time positions at both dispatch centers — 20 in Franklin County and 36.7 at SECOMM.

The combined operation would have an executive director, operations manager, nine administrators, supervisors and clerks, and 45 dispatchers, including four lead dispatchers.

This story was originally published August 7, 2016 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Cost for Franklin County, Pasco to join dispatch center: $500,000."