Bristol looks at Belknap dispatch

By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, LACONIA DAILY SUN

BRISTOL — The town of Bristol is looking to reduce police dispatching costs by having Belknap County provide the service, but the city of Franklin, which currently dispatches for Bristol, wants to retain the contract and offered to address any concerns the town has.

“We’re interested in looking at any way to save money and get better service,” said Bristol Town Administrator Nik Coates.

Lt. Kris Bean said Franklin announced plans to increase the fees for all of the towns for which it provides dispatching services, in Bristol’s case raising the annual cost from $59,000 to $60,000.

Franklin is planning to switch from copper to a fiber optic system, which will greatly improve transmissions, Bean said. Franklin also puts a lot of information into the dispatch logs which Bean said Belknap County, with its higher call volume, might not be able to do.

Belknap County would be providing new radio equipment for the Hemp Hill tower in Bristol to enhance communications, and it would close the gaps in coverage that currently pose a safety issue for officers, Bean said.

Belknap County Sheriff Mike Moyer said, “We felt it was something we could do. They would pay a flat yearly fee, and it would be additional revenue for us.”

Moyer said the county dispatch center, which through a grant upgraded its equipment five or six years ago, has a reputation as a very good dispatch center, providing 24/7 coverage.

“We provide an exceptional service,” Moyer said.

He said he met with some vendors on Tuesday to discuss what would be required to extend service to Bristol. He will need to look at how busy the Bristol Police Department is before settling on a fee.

While Bristol is in Grafton County, there is a precedent for dispatching outside of Belknap County. The dispatch center currently serves Northfield, in Merrimack County, for $35,000 a year.

Moyer said Northfield covers its day shift on Monday through Friday, but Bristol is looking for 24/7 coverage, which would mean a higher figure.

Bristol used to rely on the Plymouth Police Department for dispatching, but Bean said the costs got “out of control” and grew to  more than $100,000 a year, which led to the decision to seek services from Franklin about six years ago. That cost had remained steady at $59,000 for several years, he said.

Coates said the town probably would not save any money the first year by switching to Belknap County, because of the new equipment that would be necessary, but in subsequent years, the town could save a lot.

One concern for Bristol is the possibility that the Belknap County Delegation will cut the budget and reduce staffing at the dispatch center.

Moyer said he does not believe a potential cut would reduce the county’s ability to provide dispatching. The Tilton Police Department reduced its reliance on the county dispatch service to 16 hours a day, “so we have some wiggle room,” Moyer said.

“We are short in dispatchers,” Moyer said, adding that he had requested an additional dispatcher in last year’s budget. While the Belknap County Commission approved last year’s request, the delegation did not. Moyer has the same request in the coming year’s budget. “It’s the only additional personnel I asked for,” he said.

Moyer’s goal is to have two dispatchers on every shift, but there is only one on duty in the middle of the night right now.

“We’d have to do some upgrades to accommodate Bristol, and we’re talking with vendors about it, but it would be nothing ridiculous,” Moyer said of the additional cost.

Bean said Franklin also would invest in equipment on Hemp Hill and the city plans to put communications equipment at the top of Ragged Mountain to improve coverage for all of the towns it dispatches for.

“They’d be up and running on Hemp Hill the first of the year, and then move on to Ragged,” Bean said.

While Franklin held a regional dispatch meeting on Tuesday, emphasizing its interest in hearing members’ concerns, Bristol has not had a chance to sit down and discuss what accommodations the city is willing to extend to keep the town from going to Belknap County.

“We’re now going to get a say as shareholders,” said Bean, “and that’s never been the case in the past.”