The move is “not about quality of service, it is about cost savings,” Hess said.
Under the new five-year contract, the township would save $110,0000 in the first year, he said. The estimated cost for Miami Twp. to belong to the Regional Dispatch Center in 2022 is $410,000 and the contract with Kettering for 2022 is $300,000, Hess said.
Trustees voted 2-1 during Tuesday night’s regularly scheduled meeting to approve a resolution to enter into an agreement with the city of Kettering for the dispatch services. Next up, the measure must be approved by Kettering City Council at an upcoming meeting.
Miami Twp. Police Chief Charlie Stiegelmeyer said the township’s police department has “an excellent rapport" with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and that switching to the city of Kettering is “strictly a business move” to be as fiscally responsible as possible.
The money saved under the new contract will help with the department’s operating costs in the years to come, Stiegelmeyer said.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment and Kettering representatives didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Kettering is in the middle of a $11 million renovation to its municipal building, which includes its dispatch center along with all-new equipment, Hess said.
Trustee Don Culp, who voted against the measure, said that one of the articles concerns him because it signs Miami Twp. up to a five-year deal while allowing Kettering to opt out with six months notice.
“That would leave us in a bad spot if Kettering, two years down the road, decides, ‘You know, this multi-entity arrangement isn’t working out very well for us,” Culp said, adding that he was also concerned about what he said was Kettering’s high public sector cost structure.
“So what might be a bargain today or two years from now may not be such a great bargain a couple of years down the road after that," he said.
Trustees also voted 2-1 to approve a resolution that would enter the township into an agreement with Motorola to provide Miami Twp. Police Department with the Spillman/Flex RMS/CAD software at a cost not to exceed $200,000.
Stiegelmeyer said one of the components of the software is that it will provide real-time crime statistics, which will help the department craft policing strategies.
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