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• FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES _2_ June 21, 2004 Recommendation for County Board re arding 800 MHz dis ap tch s stem (continued) Mayor Gehrz said that all taxpayers in Ramsey County help support the cost of a County-wide dispatch system. Cities have the choice of operating their own dispatch centers but must cover the costs for doing so out of their City funds. The dispatch functions in White Bear Lake and Maplewood have been intertwined into a public safety service model that includes non-dispatch related activities. Current positions: As of June 17, Maplewood and White Bear Lake have taken official positions of support for continuing the operation of their independent PSAP's. This is similar to Hennepin County in which everyone pays toward the cost of maintaining a county-wide dispatch capability but some cities, including Minneapolis, maintain and fund their own dispatch centers. The City of Saint Paul and Ramsey County administrative staff have expressed preferences for a single site PSAP to handle all dispatching for Ramsey County. The suburban cities have directly or indirectly opposed the merger of Saint Paul and suburban • dispatch. There have been three major concerns: • Backup capability in the event of disruption of service • Potential reduction in services in the suburban cities due to increase in call volume in Saint Paul and differences in response protocols • Increased cost for suburban cities to add dispatchers to handle the call volume for Saint Paul Mayor Gehrz said that one of the major decisions to be made is the organizational structure of the Dispatch/Communication Centers (PSAPs). The Project Management Team identified the following criteria that it would like each jurisdiction to consider when discussing both its short- term and long-term policy decisions around PSAPs. CRITERIA FOR MAKING THE BEST POLICY DECISION • All federal requirements are met • Appropriate protection for the life and property of our citizens • Appropriate support for the safety of first responders • Cost justifiable/best service for the dollar • Appropriate long-term approach to managing system resources • Increased homeland security by offering appropriate integration and interoperability • Results in no reduction of service level • • Facilitates continuous cross training/skills development of dispatch staff • Maintains culture of responder organizations