All Pointes Dispatch Off Table–For Now At Least

Consolidation of the dispatch centers of all five Grosse Pointes is off the table at least for now, but smaller partnerships are still being discussed. The consolidation of all five Pointes is cost prohibitive today but could be a possibility down the road. 

The ad hoc committee of mayors, city managers and most recently, public safety directors, from each of the five Pointes reached the conclusion about consolidation after a series of meetings and much research. 

Such a consolidation would require either the construction of a new facility or renovation of an existing facility that would hold the dispatch center as well as be a lockup for arrestees, City Manager Al Fincham said. The expense of such a building is too much for any of the Pointes to fund now, he said.

According to a report compiled by the ad hoc committee, one option to completely outsource the dispatch center has been eliminated. The idea seemed appealing at first, but after reviewing the figures, few of the Pointes would be saving any dollars, the report says. 

The recommendation from the committee is to complete smaller consolidations as they won't require any funds for capital needs, as well as to continue working toward all five Pointe consolidation, according to the report. 

During this study of the idea, the committee used the Park as the location for the centralized dispatch. An architect prepared estimates about the renovations necessary to convert the current space into one that would accommodate all five Pointes, Manager Peter Dame.

In the long run, this is still the best option because all of the Pointes would share the costs of the building and equipment maintenance rather than each maintaining separate systems, Dame said. Specifically for the radio system, the Pointes would only have to maintain one base versus five, he said.

A comparison between the purchase of one new system and related equipment to service all the Pointes and the cost of updating each of the five Pointes' current systems had a net savings, Dame said. However, the savings were offset after the architect provided an estimate about much a renovation would cost, he said.

Discussion is ongoing within all of the Pointes regarding smaller consolidations.

Grosse Pointe Woods is still discussing consolidated dispatch with the , the City and the , Fincham said.

The Shores is attempting to reach a deal with the Farms, which agreed to possibly keep some of the Shores dispatch employees in the move. That recommendation was made by City Manager Brian Vick during their last council meeting.

Smaller consolidations now might make the bigger consolidation of all five Pointes easier down the road, Fincham said. With fewer dispatches, there will be fewer concessions to be made when the time comes, he said.

The committee also crunched numbers from each of the Pointes, reviewing current dispatch budgets, staffing, equipment costs and more. Additionally, they looked at the number of houses in each of the Pointes, taxable value, population and calls for service. 

According to the spreadsheet of numbers, each of the Pointes would have a one-time savings in the consolidated setup and annual savings. The numbers fluctuate greatly depending on what factor is used as the determiner. 

The numbers also were compiled in a manner so that each of the Pointes would save equally, netting a 28.8 percent annual savings for each.  The committee also looked at all of the Pointes dividing the total cost by five so each pays the same amount, forcing greater fluctuation in savings. 

Staffing is one area where the committee found significant savings could be had once an all Pointe consolidation would happen, but this is dependent on what the minimum staffing levels of a centralized center would need and the minimum number of full time employees it would take to operate, according to the report.

Although talks of consolidation among the departments has been happening relatively quietly in the community, a group identified by email only, gpcpolicefire@hotmail.com, is airing resistance. 

A half-page ad ran in the Detroit Free Press on Sunday and warned residents of danger. The ad is signed by members of the Grosse Pointe City Public Safety Department. The ad details a variety of issues that have yet to be decided by the City as it completes collective bargaining with employees. Attempts to reach a representative behind the ad were unsuccessful.

During Monday's council meeting, a resident inquired about the ad and its contents to which Mayor Dale Scrace told the man all of the information is under negotiation and has not yet been determined. 

Among the many decisions not yet made by the City is with which other Pointe to consolidate with and whether to do it at all.

The ad generated a few phone calls to Woods city offices, Fincham said. Woods residents were calling to confirm whether a portion of the ad was correct, he said. 

The ad hoc committee will continue meeting maintaing the ultimate goal of an all Pointes central dispatch/lockup. But for now, the individual cities are attempting to reach agreements for unified dispatches.