LIVERMORE FALLS – Department heads came out in favor of a local dispatch when they met Monday afternoon with members of the Dispatch Committee.
That group has been charged with studying all facets of the situation, from safety to money savings, involved in local dispatch versus having another entity doing all or part of the dispatching.
Tom Doak, representing Community Emergency Services, said his group really didn’t have much to say about where dispatching was done, but added that he thinks local dispatch is necessary.
Otherwise, it could result in dispatching by two or three agencies, resulting in no cohesive central point to know what’s going on, he said. “That could be confusing, even dangerous.”
Having a central location available to give directions to mutual aid responders is also important, he explained, as the person in charge wouldn’t have to stop work to give directions.
Doak indicated that CES would probably be dispatched by the Franklin Sheriff’s Office that is already dispatching for several entities.
Road Foreman Denis Castonguay said he relies on dispatch, especially during storms, notifying them when the crew goes home, when they’ll be back and who to call in an emergency.
“Keeping dispatch is a plus for the community,” he said. “Most people don’t realize when there’s an emergency somebody has to pull it all together.”
Livermore Fire Chief Randy Berry, a guest at the meeting, said the present service is great and has been especially helpful with the new road names. “If you go part-time, I’ll go where I’ve got one number,” he said.
Although there was general agreement on the importance of local dispatching, committee members also discussed possibility of saving money.
One suggestion was to charge Livermore and Jay for dispatching their ambulance calls, a total of $15,200, which would result in 12 percent savings, they said.
Other possibilities were to accept one of the proposals made by the town of Jay in March or to go with the Androscoggin Sheriff’s Office.
Since committee members had just received the paperwork on these, it was agreed to study them and continue the discussion at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the town office.
They also agreed that any agreement with Jay would need to be a merger, not contract, and that such a decision would have to be done by the town boards, not their committee.
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