Hoosick Falls Dispatch Will Be Terminated

by Bea Peterson
After several meetings, two Public Hearings and months of discussion, the Hoosick Falls Village Board voted four to three on Monday, September 20, to discontinue Village Dispatch Service with the following resolution.
“The Village of Hoosick Falls, in an attempt to consolidate services, reduce spending and adhere to a statewide focus on 911 services, hereby resolves to terminate the department of dispatch on May 1, 2011 at which time all emergency services shall be dispatched by Rensselaer County 911 in accordance with the agreed upon contract.”
Economics Versus Service
Dissenting voters, Trustees Ann Bornt, Robert Downing and John Hickey, were concerned that the Rensselaer County 911 service could not respond to calls as promptly as the local Dispatch. Bornt emphasized how she felt the loss of people who know local residents and are extremely familiar with the community will affect the Village. She was also concerned about Village Police response time. Police Chief Robert Ashe tried to reassure her that response time would be the same.
Mayor Matt Monahan, Deputy Mayor Paul Haynes, Jr. and Trustees Ric DiDonato and Michael Hickey voted for the termination. The budget for Dispatch this year was $160,000. The Mayor explained that the cost for the County service will be $12,000 a year for the next five years and will not increase more than three percent. After five years the Village will have the option of continuing for another five years. The Town of Hoosick will continue its support of the service, and the Mayor said he was told the Town will support whatever decision the Village made regarding Dispatch.
The cost for Dispatch is divided equally between the general fund and the water and the sewer funds. The decrease will help offset the increase in the water bond payment. The Mayor noted that next year retirement costs are expected to increase $22,000 to $75,000. And that is just one portion of the budget.
County Service
Rensselaer County Bureau of Public Safety Director Kelly Paslow and Deputy County Executive Chris Meyer were on hand to field questions about the County service. Mayor Monahan explained that when residents looking for Dispatch services after May 1 call 686-5700 the call will automatically and instantly roll over to the County system. He noted that  not all calls to Dispatch are emergency calls. As previously reported, with the County system, 911 should always be called for a fire of any kind, medical problems, traffic accidents, fights, burglaries in progress, active disturbances or people trapped. Non-emergency calls in Rensselaer County should be made to 270-5252. Those calls include barking dogs, loud music, parking problems, non-active disturbances and routine medical transports.
Several fire and rescue people were interested to know what would happen should the County service go down as it did with a lightning strike this summer and they used Hoosick Falls for backup. Paslow responded that the County will be able to dispatch through the Fairbanks Road tower and, worst case, a dispatcher could be put on a console at Fairbanks Road. Calls could also be dispatched through East Greenbush and the County’s mobile command unit. He added that a lightning protection consultant is being brought in to assess the County system, and he is hoping the system will be upgraded before the end of the year. He said there is nothing that will protect the system 100 percent. He also added that in 11 years he has only known the system to be down twice.
Former Mayor Don Bogardus wondered early in the meeting about putting the question of Dispatch termination out to the public for a non-binding vote or hiring a consulting firm to review cost saving ideas. He later told the Board, “You have to do what you have to do.”
Hoosick Rescue Squad President Bill Gaillard had grave concerns about eliminating local Dispatch as GPS is often not reliable, particularly outside the Village. Mayor Monahan reminded him that dissolving Dispatch was a Village issue. Gaillard also asked about the use of equipment given to the Village by the Rescue Squad. Paslow responded that equipment will not be needed.
Several people expressed concerns about the loss of local service, including Mike Sheldon the CSEA Union official representing the Dispatchers.
Other questions were asked as well, such as the cost of new Police car radios to accommodate the change and what if the Sheriff’s Department goes to 800 megahertz. Can the County handle 2,000 more police calls a year. The bottom line is no one wants to see two full time people and seven part time people lose their jobs. No one wants to lose the personal service that local Dispatch has offered the community for more than 80 years. DiDonato pointed out, “Consolidation of services is going to happen. Funds are not there. We are not making any friends either way, but a lot of people cannot pay more taxes.” The Mayor added that after May 1 the Dispatch office will remain in place and will not be dismantled. Mayor Monahan further added that this is just the beginning. At some point “every department is going to see a decrease,” he said.
Participate In Power Pay
A second item on the special meeting agenda was the Village’s enrollment in Power Pay, a program offered by Energy Curtailment Specialists. They are contracted by the non-profit group NY Independent System Operations. The program reimburses the Village for going off the grid twice a year for an hour at a time and operating on generator power. Trustee Robert Downing, who researched the program, said he talked with other municipalities and with Village Public Works Superintendent Niel Stowell who all agreed it was a good program. The Board approved participation in the program. The Village will be reimbursed over $2,000 annually for participating in the Program.