A 13 year experiment could be over
The city of East Moline is thinking about placing its police dispatchers back under its control.
Right now East Moline shares a facility with Moline but the deal hasn't worked out as East Moline had hoped.
And the city thinks its more cost effective to run its own dispatch center.
The city would be paying dispatchers according to east moline pay scales, not moline pay scales.
The two cities split the cost of the 911 center 60-40.
It costs roughly 200-thousand dollars each year to run the center.
But now they're finding out they need 315-thousand dollars in new radios and consoles.
So East Moline says the cost is too much and they'd be better off on their own.
"The merger hasn't panned out like it was supposed to and we'd much rather have it like it was prior to this," says East Moline Police Chief Victor Moreno.
He says the 1999 merger was supposed to create a one stop shop for dispatchers in the Quad Cities. Driving down the cost for each city participating. But 13 years later "That hasn't happened so Moline and East Moline have borne the brunt of this all along," says Moreno.
Now East Moline city aldermen have a decision to make. They can continue on in the partnership with Moline. Or they can bring the dispatchers back to East Moline. But either way, it will take another down payment.
"The radio's are 13 years old, and also the furniture, the consoles that hold the radios," says Moreno.
Sticking with Moline at Centre Station would cost the city an extra 125-thousand to upgrade the 13 year old equipment. Because parts are no longer made for those radios. But if East Moline chooses to go it alone the police department would spend around 325-thousand dollars. The department says it has the money. And Moreno says the aldermen like what it would do.
"Since we've left we've had to modify, we lock the doors to city hall at 4:30 and if we had the dispatch center allowing the residents of East Moline to come in and have contact with an East Moline police department employee," says Moreno.
A preference that will be left up to city leaders to decide.
East Moline city council is expected to take up the issue in mid-October.
There is some urgency to make a final decision,
Because it would affect Moline's budget process.
