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Union County State-of-the-Art Dispatch Center Opens

Center is an example of shared services, said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella.

The Union County Board of Freeholders celebrated the opening of a state-of-the-art dispatch center in the Ralph Froehlich Public Safety Building, located at 300 North Avenue East, on Monday, Oct. 1, which will be occupied daily by four highly-trained, experienced dispatchers, according to Department of Public Safety Director Andrew Moran.

They will have communication with eight municipalities, and the center is capable of expanding in the event that other towns want to enter into shared services. Freeholder Christopher Hudak noted that other towns have already seen the center and are “enthusiastic about the infrastructure here.”

In 2010, the borough of Fanwood agreed to route its police, fire, and emergency medical service (EMS) through the dispatch center, and after Hurricane Irene, it became even clearer that pooling recourses with other communities would make for a much quicker response to emergencies throughout the county and even into South Orange.

Since then, Roselle, Springfield, and Hillside have also routed their services in the center, and dispatch for Scotch Plains EMS, two paramedic units out of Robert Wood Johnson, and services in Roselle Park also come through.

Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella stated, “This new Dispatch Center marks a significant transformation of the emergency response infrastructure in Union County, bringing us up to date with the most advanced technologies to serve our first responders and the public.”

He added that the center is also a benefit to taxpayers. “[It] is an excellent example of a shared county-local service that enables local governments to manage their costs while gaining quality. Our municipalities are getting access to a level of expertise and technology that would be extremely difficult to support on their own.”

The original operation in the same location held only two dispatch consoles, the new center holds nine, each capable of communicating with any public safety agency in Union County. The Department of Public Safety will be transitioning out of a temporary dispatch center in the Froehlich Building and into the new one over the next few days.

“Union County is a dynamic, densely populated area where trends in emergency preparedness are constantly changing,” said Moran. “This new facility will enable [the county] to continue operating at tops levels of effectiveness . . . I am confident that this will be the best dispatch center in the county, if not in the country.”

Mirabella agreed, “The bottom line is that emergency responders throughout the region can now share a facility that enables them to manage their costs while providing a higher level of service, and that’s a win-win for everyone.”  

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Keith October 2, 2012 at 11:23 am
There is no bigger waste of our tax dollars than County Government. It should be abolished.
Douglas S. October 2, 2012 at 01:25 pm
The only way we will survive and reduce town costs will be additional sharing of services and possible combination ay Municipalities. A positive step supported by Gov. Christie.
Mike Nemeth October 2, 2012 at 01:52 pm
The Union County Freeholders want to move forward with a $25 million spending plan at the former Oak Ridge golf course. Where does the money come from for this? If it's a new bond, meaning more debt, shouldn't the residents of Union County be able to vote on this just like the Westfield Bond issue? Are county Freeholders allowed to borrow and increase taxes at will?
http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/2012/09/little_has_changed_at_oak_ridg.html
Jeff B October 2, 2012 at 01:55 pm
Conceptually sharing services makes sense, because you can have lower fixed overhead costs (buildings) and can staff to meet larger and more predictable demand. Unfortunately, from the Federal government on down, the bigger the government supplying the service the more waste, inefficiency and corruption there seems to be, so you rarely get any real savings.
I agree with Keith that Union County government is the worst. The tax bills that just came out show them getting 22% of our real estate tax dollars. That is a great deal of money from me for little tangible benefit.
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Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Deborah Bell (Editor) June 18, 2013 at 11:48 am
You're welcome! I'm sure you'll enjoy these boards a lot.
CowDung June 18, 2013 at 04:26 pm
The trouble is, that once the 'boards' are off the front page, one can't follow the discussion. TheRead More 'shout stream' has gone away with the redesign of Patch. The 'reply' feature has also gone. Somehow I don't see these boards as being all that useful for public discussion and interaction. The more effective place is on the articles themselves--they get more page space, and they tend to have a more 'discussion friendly' topic for conversation than the random board postings.
Karen Egert June 18, 2013 at 06:06 pm
I agree -- they should have a separate tab for Letters to the Editor
Rob Goldstein June 14, 2013 at 02:53 pm
Karen Egert, were you opposed to the DARE program that was in effect a few years ago? The DARERead More officer (whether it was a uniformed officer or detective) always carried his or her duty firearm in the school and was at each school on a weekly basis.
karen egert June 14, 2013 at 03:01 pm
Apparently Mr. Common Sense you were not at the Board meeting because if you were you would knowRead More that it was clearly outlined that all decisions and reporting of this police officer will be from the police department -- not the school. So are you saying that Lucy Biegler is now the new spokeswoman ? You said she is calling out the position for what it REALLY is ? The discrepancy in outlined roles and the vagueness of this position is reason enough to question it. Ofcourse you have an opinion , but because our children will be directly affected I think our concerns should be heavily weighed . .
karen egert June 14, 2013 at 03:05 pm
Rob -- to answer your question , I was never crazy about the DARE program and yes , I was disturbedRead More that the officer carrying a gun in school . I didn't like it . So I am being consistent. I was new to the school at the time .
Charles Sullivan June 12, 2013 at 05:28 pm
Maddy, Thank you for your comment and I agree that's a lot of money. I just wanted to let you knowRead More that I wanted to give the board some options to consider in case they felt the need to hire a hybrid public safety officer with experience in security operations. Does the town need one, maybe. Can the WPD do more in regards to daily school security, yes I think so but they don't have to assign a cop they already have on the books for this activity. Thank you again for time.
New perspective June 13, 2013 at 02:45 pm
Mr. Sullivan - thank you for your lengthy explanation and detail. I think one of the statements youRead More made should speak volumes to all "Resource officers are proactive, and they can stop something before it starts, Police Officers are re-active and they respond to locations to enforce the law." Do we really want an armed officer in the school who MAY react to let's say someone who has a watergun but the police officer *thinks* it is a real gun at first quick glance? This happens everyday thoughout this country all by accident. Do we really need WHS to be another statistic? Here's another question....why just have an SRO at the High School? Aren't the middle school aged children MORE prone to peer pressure and stress that can cause them to want to harm others as a reaction? In my Non-Professional opinion, middle school aged kids are more of a danger than High School kids.
John Q. Public June 14, 2013 at 11:17 am
Mr. Sullivan, I believe I read that the SRO position had been eliminated for budgetary reasons inRead More the past but that doesn't really address the first issue I mentioned, nor does your comment about having external foot patrols. (As an aside, I believe the crossing guard in the morning at the corner where the auditorium is is a regular sworn police officer). In addition, I see the presence or lack of such external patrols and the lack of coverage if a single SRO has a sick day as logistical issues that can be worked out as opposed to legitimate objections. I don't really see these as evidence going against the SRO concept.
concerned citizen June 11, 2013 at 08:03 pm
Egert is just against guns, that's it. Everything has to fit into this, her small world, and sheRead More tries hard to make it fit, squeezes it, bends it and massages it. She gets help from the elitist billionaire Nanny Bloomberg for the talking points, but he has none regarding this specific topic, so she flounders.
john June 11, 2013 at 10:28 pm
Karen, karen, karen. it is to easy. never mind.
karen egert June 15, 2013 at 10:28 pm
GGG - I have nothing against the Westfield police . On the contrary, on the few occasions I hadRead More interactions with any of them., they were all professional , courteous and very helpful . I am grateful for our Westfield police . I believe that the wonderful job they do as trained police officers is spectacular . I just disagree with the use of a police officer that has only been trained in the duties of an SRO for 7 to 10 days to be the ones counseling our children. . But please don't say I'm against police officers . That's inaccurate and unfair .
karen egert June 11, 2013 at 01:38 am
Thank you Matt for working to represent the third ward . If elected I hope you will work to moveRead More the traffic light on Central Ave that is literally on a resident's driveway . It also flashes as soon as it turns red . As my street is one block from there , I often see residents walking across the crosswalk while the lights are flashing . It doesn't make sense and it's dangerous . Putting that light there is also a terrible thing to do to that resident in our Third Ward . It's wrong and we need it moved .