City Will Create Own Center

The city of Pembroke Pines (Fla.) has been debating whether to stay with the Broward County Sheriff’s comm center or break away and create their own center to steamline operations. Now the city commissioners have voted unanimously to make the move, creating their own center staffed with their own dispatchers. Funding is still an issue–the county collects the monthly 911 surcharge, and the commissioners don’t believe the county will hand over the approximately $900,000 a year that it collects from the city’s telephone subscribers. A sheriff’s spokesperson said the county commission would have to approve any changes in how the 911 surcharge is spent, including appropriating it to the city.