Center Is Closing After Debate: Control vs. Money

With a unanimous vote last Tuesday, the Wyomissing (Penn.) borough council decided to close its public safety comm center and move operations to the Berks County center by the end of this month, in a classic debate over the advantages of local control versus the need to save money. The decision now leaves the city of Reading with the only comm center not dispatched by the county. During a two-hour meeting, the borough council heard pleas from some of the 40 police officers, dispatchers and citizens to keep their local comm center open. Most said the center made them feel safer and that local dispatchers better new the territory and its 10,476 residents, and provided more personalized service. Those who spoke asked the council to use reserve funds to keep the comm center open or postpone a decision until funding could be found. But council members said they had a $1.8 million budget shortfall for 2011, caused by a $700,000 decline in tax revenues over the last three years, despite a 10 percent property tax hike. Five full-time dispatchers will be laid off, saving the borough $200,00 annually. They will receive one week’s pay for each year of service. Read more about the vote here.