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Police Chief Richard Tarsa tries to alleviate residents concerns on regionalizing dispatching, but admitted he'd prefer to keep it in house.
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Residents at the information session were worried about communication issues.
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Adams Officials Reassure Residents on Dispatching Switch

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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ADAMS, Mass. — Public safety officials on Wednesday night tried to reassure residents that using the Berkshire County Sheriff's Communications Center for dispatch was not a safety concern.

Residents have been reluctant to eliminate the town's dispatch services — and its three dispatchers — despite the potential cost savings. Many of those in the crowd at the Visitors Center felt the voters should decide the issue, not the Board of Selectmen.

Police Chief Richard Tarsa lead Wednesday's question-and-answer session and helped explain the logistics of the switch that would save the town more than $150,000 annually.

He said he does not want anything in his department to change, but promised services would not decrease.

"Any department head, I don't care who they are, who are going to lose something in their department will not look you in the eyes and say they are 100 percent for it," he said. "The only difference is where the call is being received and where the dispatch is coming from. You are still going to have the same personnel in the town of Adams that have been responsible all along."

Tarsa said the Adams dispatch in 2014 received 1,519 calls to 911; 644 were from cell phones, which because cell phone 911 calls go to the state police headquarters, 42 percent of the calls were not handled by town dispatchers. 

Although he does not want to lose the service, the police chief said he cannot compete with the savings that could reach more than $1.5 million over 10 years

"How can I compete with those numbers how can anyone compete with those numbers?" he said.

He added that even though he prefers dispatchers who were born in Adams and who know all of the roads, the sheriff's communications center will be able to access this information through its robust system.

"Our current dispatchers were born and raised in Adams, and they know the town like the back of their hand," Tarsa said. "They can tell you the street and the cross street but the IMC database has that information. ....

"But people say it is good to have the hometown touch and I am not going to disagree with that."

Adams Fire Department Chief Paul Goyette echoed this statement.

"Our response times are never going to change, and they have been the same for 100-plus years," he said. "We will continue to provide the best services that we can for the town ... but call me old-fashioned, I like what we have now."

Tarsa said by reallocating resources there will still always be to officers on patrol and one officer, who could be a reserve officer, manning the station. By charter, the station has to have an officer at the desk at all times.

This officer will take the administrative calls through the department's phone line.

He said although there has been no real discussion on the matter and it would require a charter change, the station in the future could turn into a "dark station" in which the officer manning the desk can lock up and go out on a call. All calls would be transferred to the dispatch service.

Lt. Col. Tom Grady of the sheriff's office said this practice is not new to the Communications Center and in many towns, if an officer is busy, after four rings the call is automatically transferred.

Tarsa said regionalization has been on his radar since 2013 and he wanted to point the Adams Police Department as the Northern Berkshire Regional Dispatch Center.

But he estimated the upfront costs for this at $1 million. Even though the town could receive 75 percent reimbursement from the state, the cost to purchase and upgrade equipment would be too much.

"I was told by the state chief it was a great idea, but I was four years too late," Tarsa said. "In the beginning stage this was plausible but it was not followed up in time."

He said combining with North Adams is not an option because the city cannot take on a bigger load and simply does not have the facility to add more manpower. If North Adams were to change its operation, it could lose 911 funding because it's grandfathered into an older program.

Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco said the town also looked at splitting the dispatcher service fee between all of the emergency responder services that use them, but this was not economically feasible.

He said the change will be dependent on a $700,000 state grant to allow for equipment upgrades. The town will be notified if it has received the grant by the end of the month.

Adams is looking at a minimum of a $300,000 budget gap in the next fiscal year. Mazzucco said the town cannot even tax its way out because in a few years the tax rate would hit the $25 limit. He said the town has to shrink if it wants to keep up with costs.

Mazzucco said the most difficult part of the decision is the loss of three employees.

"The loss comes in the job loss for our three dispatchers, and they have worked hard for this community for many years and no one can take that away from them," he said. "They continue to work hard for this community, and I can tell you anytime you lose jobs in a community it is not a good thing."

Sheriff Thomas Bowler said this is a trend throughout the state and more than 80 communities in the commonwealth rely on regional dispatch.

He said the state has pushed $8 million to $10 million to help fund these consolidations.

"There are eight dispatch centers in Berkshire County to serve 150,000 people," he said. "When the state looks at that they wrack their brain and try to figure out what the heck is going on, and why are they sending this kind of money for all of these dispatch services in small county."

He added that he has been working with the state to develop a single Berkshire County dispatch center.

Bowler believes more communities will join, which will mean hiring more dispatchers. The Communications Center has 11 and the Adams dispatchers would have first dibs on new jobs.

The people at the Visitors Center on Wednesday were worried that the sheriff's office would not be able to handle the extra calls. Many asked if there is an increased likelihood that there would be mistakes because they dispatch for so many communities.

 

Tarsa said the services in town will remain the same and he fought to hold onto the town's own frequency to avoid any communication errors.  

Some of the emergency medical technicians in the crowd felt there would be continued issues with communication because only the police equipment will be upgraded. They also were concerned about the many communication "dead spots" in town.

Grady said the consolidation is set up so nothing will change

"The town of Adams is going to operate the way it does today so if you have dead spots now you will have them when you come to us," he said. "We are working with the chief to try to address those areas."

Tarsa said the police equipment is the oldest in the town and he made a point to speak up and ask for the upgrade.

Grady added that there will always be human error and they will correct any issues that arise. He said all dispatchers will make mistakes at some point, even in Adams.

Residents were concerned that services would be duplicated and that the police officer working the desk could exhaust the overtime budget.

Mazzucco said nothing is being added to the budget, only taken away.

"We are not adding to the police expense budget so next year that $150,000 … that's is coming out of the town's budget," he said. "We won't be adding anything else so the police are not getting $50,000 in overtime or two more officers.

Environmental disasters were another concern for residents who felt the office may be stretched thin when many of their communities are in trouble.  

Grady said they have made it through many disasters and have a protocol for every situation.

"If we have a structure fire that goes to five or more communities we have additional dispatchers come in," he said. "We have plans in place to handle things that would go beyond normal situations." 

Officer Josh Baker said he was not in favor of losing the dispatchers

"I don't know anyone in my local who wants the dispatchers gone, and we all support having a dispatch center here in Adams," he said. "We all have the same concerns you have in regards to your safety and our safety."

Officer Gregory Charon agreed.

"When I go to work I have a gun, a taser, a baton, pepper spray, and I have handcuffs," he said. "All I am simply asking, I have been there 24 years, please don't take the best tool I have a way from me, which is a local dispatcher."


Tags: dispatchers,   public safety,   

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Hoosac Valley High School is Moving and Shaking

There have been some major shifts within the Hoosac Valley Regional School District recently, all of which have focused on enhancing the student experience to make it a place where ALL students can find their path.
 
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The Innovation Pathways at HVHS are designed to give students coursework and experience in a specific high-demand industry, such as technology, engineering, healthcare, or life sciences. Currently, Biomedical Science & Healthcare and Environmental Studies have received official state IP designation. In addition to the IP designated pathways, HVHS offers programs in Engineering & Technology, Business & Entrepreneurship, Arts & Entertainment, Education, and Sports Medicine. The result is that students have an opportunity for a transformative experience – enabling them to build essential skills, gain awareness of future career opportunities, and make informed choices about post-secondary education in promising fields.
 
Principal Colleen Byrd notes, "What makes our program special is that entry into the Pathway of your choice allows a student to access Advanced Placement and dual enrollment college courses, as well as internships in the community to set them up for success after high school."
 
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