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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Edgewood Seeks Dispatch Agreement

By Lee Ross /
Mountain View Telegraph
      Although things are falling into place for Edgewood’s new Police Department, it still needs a finalized agreement for dispatch.
       Chief Paul Welch has done six interviews for officers and is interested enough to do background checks on half of them. The department is also receiving equipment, has phone service, and a working system of policies and procedures, which Welch said he will likely continue to work on.
       That is, along with everything else Welch is doing to create the town’s police force, which he said is keeping him busy.
       “I don’t come in the morning and say, ‘Oh, gee, what’ll I do today,’ ” he said.
       High on Welch’s “to-do” list is securing an agreement with Santa Fe County’s Regional Emergency Communications Center (RECC), which handles dispatch for the county’s public safety operations.
       “That is the one issue that remains before we can start to hire personnel and then get out there,” Welch said.
       Welch and Edgewood Mayor Robert Stearley appeared before the RECC’s board of directors, which consists of Santa Fe’s city and county managers, and city and county emergency services personnel.
       Welch called the meeting “mediocre,” but not for lack of support from the board.
       The RECC board unanimously approved a joint powers agreement (JPA) to allow the Edgewood Police Department to use their services, according to Stan Holden, the chief of Santa Fe County’s Fire Department, who is a member of the board. Holden, who has been working with Welch on dispatch for some time, said issues may still exist.
       “I wish I could say it is smooth sailing,” Holden said.
       The JPA still has to be ratified by the Santa Fe City Council and the Santa Fe County Commission, Holden said.
       “You don’t know exactly what issues they might have,” Holden said, adding that he was encouraged. “It is a big step, getting the approval of the RECC board, though … both city and county managers sit on that board, and it was unanimous.”
       Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano, who also sits on the RECC board, also noted the support of the two managers and added that he doesn’t expect any problems.
       “I don’t see any problem with it going through City Council and County Commission,” he said. “The only worry I have is the effect the additional traffic could have with the staff within the center.”
       According to the agreement, Edgewood will pay $75,000 a year to fund staffing for the center and will pay 20 percent of all capital costs, such as software and radio equipment, up to $20,000 a year, according to Stearley.
       Part of the JPA states that, after accumulating data for a year, the agreement can be adjusted if the demand created by Edgewood costs more than the town has agreed to pay, Solano said.
       In the meantime, Welch noted that getting the JPA ratified by political entities, which are busy with budget planning, may take a little time.
       Edgewood is also starting work on its budget. Welch pointed out that what the Town Council decides during budget time will determine another crucial part of Edgewood’s police force: staffing levels.
       “I’d like 100 (officers),” Welch joked.
       More realistically, he hopes to have eight to nine officers when fully staffed. A part of determining how much money the town has to spend has to do with the impact of town revenues from new businesses, such as Wal-Mart, which is a relative unknown at this point.
       “It’s the (Town Council’s) responsibility to balance the wants and the demands of all the town’s services with the revenue that’s available,” Welch said. “I don’t think there’s a single person on that Town Council that doesn’t see public safety as a primary need. … They’ve probably been the most supportive group that I’ve worked with.”
       Including Edgewood’s, Welch has headed four police departments in his career.
   

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