By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
The Burlington Common Council’s decision last week to switch to the county-run Communication Center for police and emergency dispatching came down to the belief the county has the equipment, staffing levels, training and financial resources to deliver better service for less money, according to two city aldermen.
“For me, the primary driver was the public safety aspect,” said Fourth District Alderman Tom Pruesker. “It’s not a decision I take lightly (but) I have to make the best decision for the city of Burlington.”
Council President and Third District Alderman Jon Schultz said his mind was made up when he realized that under current budget constraints, the city is unable to deliver the same level of service as the county Communications Center, which is supported by communities throughout the county.
Both men said the decision was the most difficult in their tenures on the council and both offered praise for the five full-time dispatchers and one part-time dispatcher who currently provide the city’s police dispatching service.
The council voted 6-1 in favor of the switch to the county system. The dissenting vote was cast by Ruth Dawidziak.
“Emotionally and personally, it was a hard decision,” Schultz said. “But from a logical standpoint, it was pretty clear.
“If money was no object there would be no question we’d keep local dispatching,” he continued. “But I realized the resiliency of local dispatch would never match the county because we’d never be able to spend that much.”
To read the full story, see the Oct. 26 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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