Dispatcher Daron Laricks answers a call in Sea Isle City's emergency dispatch center.
Sea Isle City is switching over to Cape May County’s central communications system for emergency and nonemergency calls to its police, fire and medical services – a move expected to save taxpayer money and put more cops on the street.
At its meeting Tuesday, City Council approved a five-year shared services agreement to join the county’s 911 communications system starting Dec. 1, 2024. The deal includes two automatic five-year renewals after the initial term, according to a copy of the agreement.
“Our primary goal has always been to provide the most effective service at the best cost. Our police department, along with all of our first responders and our citizens, rely on this service at their most critical time of need,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said during the Council meeting.
Sea Isle becomes the latest local municipality to join the county central communications system. The other municipalities have also cited cost savings as a major reason for switching to the county system.
Police Chief Anthony Garreffi said that by joining the county communications system, Sea Isle will be able to save taxpayer money. He couldn’t immediately say how much, but indicated it would be significant.
According to the agreement, Sea Isle will pay the county $231,000 per year for dispatch services.
“We’ve come to the conclusion that this service can be provided at an excellent level, and at a more reasonable ongoing cost, through implementation of this shared services agreement,” Desiderio said, while noting that the police department took the lead in reviewing details of the county deal.
Sea Isle City now has its own emergency dispatch center but will be switching to the Cape May County system in December.Sea Isle City currently has its own emergency dispatch center but will switch to the Cape May County communications system starting in December.
Moreover, Desiderio and Garreffi explained that Sea Isle will be able to have more of its police officers out on patrol once the city moves over to the county dispatch system.
“Overall, it’s a great program, and it’s something that will keep more police officers on the street here in Sea Isle,” Desiderio said.
Garreffi noted that the police department occasionally must use its own officers to staff the city’s 911 system if the regular communications dispatchers are not able to work on a particular day. In doing so, it takes those officers away from their normal patrol duties, he said.
Sea Isle has four 911 dispatchers. Desiderio said Sea Isle wanted to join the county’s 911 system earlier, but decided to wait until its dispatchers were ready to retire to make the switch.
“We were deliberate and thoughtful in making this recommendation, as we wanted to provide the best opportunity for transition to alternative employment opportunities for those dispatchers who may want to continue to work,” Desiderio said.
“I want to thank our dispatch staff for their dedication to Sea Isle City,” he added. “Collectively, they’ve literally handled tens of thousands of calls over the years, and I venture to say they’ve been a welcome voice to many of our citizens.”
Even when the dispatchers are no longer working in Sea Isle, people will still be able to come to the police department at City Hall seven days a week, 24 hours a day. If there is not a police staff person at the reception area during off hours, there will be a phone in the lobby to contact someone on duty, Desiderio said.
