Cutting barracks hours irks police January 23, 2002 By David Mace VERMONT PRESS BUREAU MONTPELIER – Plans to stop staffing the Vermont State Police barracks in Middlesex and Bethel around the clock and move dispatchers elsewhere have local officials worried, but lawmakers say there's little they can do to help in these tough budget times. During testimony before the Senate Government Operations Committee Tuesday, local police departments and town officials told senators that moving dispatch services away and having the two barracks staffed only during business hours could endanger the public and officers. "When this goes into effect, once you leave Williston the next open state police barracks you'll come to (after hours) will be Rockingham," said Washington County Sheriff Donald Edson. Currently, the state is moving dispatching services to central locations like Williston. Eventually, only four of the 14 state police barracks will have dispatching services and will control the entire state. Edson said that the barracks provided safe havens where abused women could find sanctuary even in the middle of the night, as well as a valuable service to the public at large. And dispatchers in a distant station will lack the key local knowledge to help police, fire, and ambulance personnel find remote locations, he said. But Public Safety Commissioner James Walton defended the consolidation and said both the public and officers would be protected. He said the move, started several years ago when the state installed its improved 911 emergency phone network, has been successful in other locations due to the better technology and improved professionalism among dispatchers. "What we're doing is consolidation we believe will result in better dispatching services," Walton said. "The quality of people in those centers is as good as it gets." Brattleboro's dispatching services were transferred to Rockingham's barracks, Shaftsbury's to Rutland, and Saint Albans' and Middlebury's dispatchers went to Williston. Under the next round of consolidation, Middlesex would be assigned to Williston and Bethel to Rockingham. Sen. Gerald Morrissey, R-Bennington, said he worried that closing barracks after hours would leave even more communities without a full-time police presence, but wondered what could be done. Committee chairman Sen. William Doyle, R-Washington, asked if the committee couldn't pressure the Senate Appropriations Committee for help. "If you want to give me the money to spend, fine," shot back committee member Sen. Susan Bartlett, D-Lamoille, who is also chair of the Appropriations Committee. After the hearing, Walton said he was sympathetic to the concerns of local police and town officials who worried about the quality of service declining after the dispatchers were moved. He said that those stations that were closed after business hours would be equipped with a free public phone so that someone who went there could still call for help, and said that consolidation hadn't affected service where it had occurred. "I think the proof is in the pudding," Walton said. "We've successfully done that in other areas." Contact David Mace at [email protected] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor