A joint Town Council / Board of Supervisors meeting on the feasibility study regarding the merger of Roanoke County and Town of Vinton Emergency Communication 911 Centers was held earlier this week at the Roanoke County Administration Building.
During a work session held in July, staff from both government offices presented results gathered from a preliminary investigation of the proposal that identified the potential benefits and pitfalls of a merger of the communication centers. It was decided by council members and supervisors in attendance to proceed with the merger study.
A steering committee was broken into subcommittees comprised of both Town and County personnel, charged with providing potential solutions to any foreseeable issues and concerns arising from the potential merger.
“This is a great report,” said Vinton Mayor Brad Grose. “I had a lot of questions before receiving this report. Because of the caliber of our staffs, the report answered my questions. This is good news for our citizens. It is incumbent [on us] to save our citizens tax money when we can. This reflects the great working relationship the Town of Vinton and Roanoke enjoy.”
The major considerations noted by the committees in order of importance were: citizens, employees, costs, development of policies and proceedings, maintaining the town identity, and the facility. All of the initial and bottom line costs needed to be identified while eliminating redundancies. The desire was to ensure that the culture and “hands on” service for customers would not be compromised if Vinton moved its dispatch center to the county public safety center on Cove Road.
It was noted by the committees that the Roanoke County Communications Center became a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified operation. Roanoke County dispatchers can also “talk people through” a situation until emergency personnel arrive on the scene — a service that is currently not offered at the smaller communications center in Vinton.
Additional advantages pointed out were service improvement, more dispatchers on duty, Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) for the Town of Vinton, operational efficiency, grant competitiveness (easier to get grants for merged centers), potential for enhanced services due to the opportunity to pool resources, and cost savings.
Roanoke County Director of Finance Rebecca Owens noted that for Budget Year 2009-10, the Town of Vinton’s budget totaled $496,333 including operational expenses of $118,450. Roanoke County’s budget totaled $2,128.677, including operational expenses of $251,127, equivalent to a combined total (for both budgets) of $2,625,010 including operational expenses of $369,577.
Owens reported that the anticipated proposed budget subsequent to full consolidation would total $2,145,570 including operational expenses of $255,887, with approximately 31 percent in savings for operational expenses.
The study revealed total implementation costs of $344,411 which includes software, hardware, service, and miscellaneous. Application for a grant from the 911 Wireless Board would cover most of the costs.
The Steering Committee recommended proceeding with the merger of the two centers. The timetable for being fully operational after the merger would be early fiscal year 2011 pending grant opportunities.
Roanoke County Board of Supervisors Chairman Michael Altizer remarked that the study shows “You don’t have to go out and pay someone to do a study. Everybody involved from town staff to county staff did an excellent job – very thorough.”
Both governing bodies are scheduled to meet individually on December 15. If Roanoke County invites the Town of Vinton to merge the communication 911 centers, Vinton will announce its decision on whether to accept or decline the invitation at its next council meeting scheduled for January 5.
By Susan Ayers [email protected]