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Politics & Government

Council Moves Forward on Regional 911 plan.

The council met this week and also approved several other regional-based proposals.

 

Regionalization was the main theme of this week’s Town Council meeting as the council unanimously approved four resolutions to consider joining forces with neighboring towns in an effort to improve certain services and potentially reduce costs.

Consolidation of services has become increasingly popular in recent years as towns try to save money, pool resources and eliminate duplication. In 2008, the state authorized the Regional Performance Incentive (RPI) Grant Program to “encourage municipalities to participate in regional projects with neighboring municipalities in order to produce measurable economies of scale.” The RPI grants, disbursed through the State’s Office of Policy and Management, are intended help towns lower the cost and tax burden related to ‘desired or required services’.

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Berlin may soon share resources in the areas of emergency dispatch, digital parcel mapping, and Dial-a-Ride services.

Along with Rocky Hill, Newington, Wethersfield, and Cromwell, Berlin will apply for an RPI grant to determine the feasibility of regionalizing the towns’ emergency call centers. The One Point PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) Regional Dispatch would be responsible for dispatching police, firefighting and ambulance services within all five-towns.

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The grant, if approved, will help Berlin and its partners understand the pros and cons of regionalizing 911 emergency communications. The grant is for $50,000 to $100,000.

“This is essentially an endorsement to apply for a grant to study whether this is feasible,” said Mayor Adam Salina. He noted that the grant may not even be approved, but if the study is conducted, Salina said the council will be in a position to make an educated decision about the ramifications of consolidating this important service.

According to a 2010 report by the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (an advisory committee within the federal Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau), consolidation of emergency communication systems can often produce long-term cost efficiencies by reducing operations and technology duplication. However, the report also stated that not all consolidations result in cost savings, and it might take several years for savings to be realized due to substantial start-up costs. The fact that layoffs are a possibility and that participating agencies will give up some control are issues that will need to be addressed during the feasibility study as well.

Digital parcel mapping is another area being targeted for consolidation. Town Manager McNair reported that the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency (CCRPA), which includes Berlin, Burlington, Bristol, Plymouth, New Britain, and Southington, is undertaking a project “wherein digital parcel maps will be created, maintained, and made publicly accessible via a website and interactive web application for the seven towns.”

The maps assist various town officials with land-use planning, municipal budgeting, historic preservation, and environmental conservation. McNair said Berlin currently maintains such maps independently for approximately $4,000 per year, and this new service would be provided at no cost to the town.

The council has also agreed to support a proposal by CCRPA to purchase a computer system related to Dial-a-Ride services. Currently, the seven towns within CCRPA all provide Dial-a-Ride services independently, and in Berlin, much of the information required to provide these services is gathered and processed manually. The new software/hardware combination being proposed is expected to facilitate scheduling, optimize routing, and provide customer notification services. It would also allow for automated vehicle tracking and fleet maintenance. This system would be provided at no initial cost to the town.

Another regionalization effort supported by the council is related to the CAPTAIN (Capital region Total Access Information Network) program used by police and fire personnel. CAPTAIN is a mobile public safety information system that is currently used throughout the region. It allows police and fire personnel to access information from their vehicles and from station-based computers.

The Capital Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) is applying for a grant to upgrade this computer-based CAPTAIN system to a web based application, CAPTAIN4G. According to Wethersfield town documents, the CAPTAIN4G project will “deploy fourth generation public wireless technology and migrate from laptop based personal computers to tablet oriented systems and smartphones.” Town Manager, Denise McNair, said the program cost of $300,000 to $400,000 is fully funded by the State Office of Policy and Management.

Berlin Police Chief Paul Fitzgerald said he expects the transition to CAPTAIN4G to be relatively smooth.

“The CAPTAIN program has been around for a very long time,” said Fitzgerald. “We have been participating. We pay a monthly fee to participate, and I don’t see that fee increasing at all.”

At its Dec. 6 meeting, the council also supported a separate RPI grant for a regional major crime squad. This grant will allow Berlin to pool resources with Cromwell, Newington, Rocky Hill and Wethersfield in order to “provide enhanced capabilities and services in the investigation of major crimes.” The grant, if approved, would cover the total cost of the program, $350,546.

In other business this week, the council authorized the purchase of chemicals to be used for the 2012 golf season at Timberlin as well as an increase to the cost of continued cleanup related to Storm Alfred. An agreement with electricity supplier, Direct Energy Services, for an Opt-In Endorsement program was also approved.

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