Trustees aim to iron out dispatch cost differences

Brown Deer - With a June 10 deadline looming, the Village Board will meet in closed session May 31 to discuss contracting with Bayside for dispatch services.

Village President Carl Krueger said those involved in the discussion about dispatch during the last 21 months will be invited to attend the meeting.

"The purpose is to discuss costs under the proposed contract (with Bayside) and the costs associated with our own police department center," Krueger said. "We have decisions to be made regarding dispatch."

Krueger said trustees are preparing questions for the closed session, which will likely include representatives from both villages.

Brown Deer can contract with Bayside for dispatch services for a cost of $344,306 plus a first-year capital charge of $377,087. An update of a consultant's report on the costs of the service shows the village saving $650,000 over a 10-year period by having Bayside handle dispatching.

Village Manager Russell Van Gompel now disagrees with the report. He said earlier this month that the savings would only be slightly more than $5,000 a year.

The board hopes to iron out the various discrepancies in cost and levels of service, Krueger said.

Van Gompel and Village Attorney John Fuchs initially disagreed over whether the board could meet in closed session for its discussion but Van Gompel said Monday he does not intend to pursue a complaint in the matter.

Milwaukee Corporation Counsel's John Jorgensen handles open meetings complaints. A complaint can only be filed after a meeting takes place but Fuchs sought his opinion on the reasons the board is meeting in closed session.

The board is meeting under two exemptions to the open meetings law. One is the exemption for deliberating or negotiating the purchase of public property/competitive or bargaining reasons while the second exemption covers a discussion that, if done publicly, could have a "substantial adverse effect on the reputation of any person. …"

"We do not have the authority to review in advance," Jorgenson said. "This sounds like a parochial dispute and we generally figure he (Fuchs) is in the best position to give advice."

River Hills and Fox Point have contracted with Bayside for dispatch services for eight and 12 years, respectively. Bayside will begin providing dispatch services for the North Shore Fire Department, Glendale, Whitefish Bay and Shorewood under recently signed agreements. Glendale, Whitefish Bay and Shorewood now operate the TriCommunity dispatch center in Whitefish Bay for their own police departments and for the Fire Department. They began to explore a consolidated center after flooding last July caused a temporary relocation of their personnel and services to Bayside.

Brown Deer has been discussing options for dispatch for 21 months. Bayside Village President Sam Dickman in an email to Krueger asked for a decision on the current contract offer by June 10. Bayside will build an addition for the expanded dispatch center and with seven of the eight principal parties agreeing to the plan, Dickman said the village will seek contracts for the expansion and begin to order equipment for the addition in July.

Brown Deer could join later, but the cost of joining would likely change once Bayside is in the contract and ordering phase of expansion, according to Bayside Village Manager Andy Pederson.