By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Seeking a happy medium between two extremes, Whitewater officials are considering a proposal to pool resources with the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department for dispatch services.
Police Chief Lisa Otterbacher last week came before the Common Council with a proposal dubbed “the communication bridge.”
As part of the possible arrangement, the two agencies would work in tandem with one another and provide back-up at their communication centers on an as-needed basis. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s police department could be part of the effort as well.
The so-called bridge proposal is the latest in a series of scenarios that have been presented this past year to address staffing and other issues related to allocation of resources. It bubbled to the surface after discussions about staffing levels throughout the past few months.
The latest scenario could be especially beneficial in extreme situations where resources within one agency are stretched thin. Examples could include a severe vehicular accident and a situation involving an active shooter.
Other scenarios that previously were explored included a standalone 911 dispatch center within the city, outsourcing all dispatching to the sheriff and an outright merging of resources with other agencies, including the UW-Whitewater Police Department and the Whitewater Fire Department.
“I believe the best option is to pursue the communications bridge,” Otterbacher said at last week’s council meeting. “There are significant positives and negatives to each of the alternative concepts.”
Speaking on the bridge concept, Otterbacher said it “maintains a communication center (in Whitewater) that will continue to serve and support the local needs and services of the community.”
Otterbacher asserted the bridge option would provide cost savings to the city if UW-Whitewater jointly supports the effort for its own dispatching services.
Under terms of the proposal, the bridge dispatch center would include a one-time $582,450 expenditure to sync up equipment and infrastructure between the city, county and possibly UW-Whitewater. Afterward, the city would spend upwards of $311,000 annually to maintain the service.
At the moment, Whitewater spends about $449,000 annually on its own dispatch services, Otterbacher said.
Other figures provided by Otterbacher during her presentation included the reality that Whitewater residents provide more than $2.2 million in tax revenue to the county to fund all of its operations. Thirty-eight percent of that figure goes toward such sheriff’s services as patrolling, communications and other administrative functions.
The council did not take any formal action on Otterbacher’s latest proposal in addressing communications center and dispatching in Whitewater.
“I think we still need to digest this,” Council President Patrick Singer said. “This appears to still be in its infancy.”
Council member Lynn Binnie echoed Singer’s sentiments. Binnie also expressed gratitude toward Otterbacher and others for the time they have devoted to exploring the latest proposal.
“I just think this is way too much for us to think about tonight,” Binnie said after hearing the presentation.
The council is expected to continue its discussion of the bridge proposal at a future meeting. Final action could be coming down the pike as well.
