Barring some sort of new agreement between the two towns, come July 1, the Huntersville Police Department could begin having its officers dispatched by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). Huntersville sees it as a cost-saving move, as opposed to paying 62 percent of the operating costs of the joint operation based out of the Cornelius Police Department.

"I have made no secret I am going to recommend to you that we stay the course," Hoyle told Cornelius commissioners Monday evening. He would later tell them the town would realize some savings should it contract out its services and close the call center, but it wouldn't be as much as commissioners may think. He based the bulk of his argument, though, on the human element.

"Why did we start (the town's own dispatch center) in the first place?" Hoyle asked rhetorically. "We were getting dispatch for free from the county when we started it. We had no experience or equipment to start a center. Funding was limited at that time. We had only a seven-digit line and no 911 system."

But ...

"(The Cornelius Police Department) was a very small agency in a large system," Hoyle continued. "We had no control of dispatch times or quality of service. We had long delays in response even though units were available. Sometimes calls were delayed as long as 30 minutes."

At that time, dispatching was handled by Mecklenburg County, so it was in the early 1990s when Hoyle, then the police chief in Huntersville, was approached by Cornelius with the idea of creating their own dispatch center. Since then, the Cornelius call center has been upgraded to a primary public safety access point (PSAP) which brings with it partial funding from the state via telephone bill surcharges.

As a PSAP, it cannot be forced to close as the state continues to squeeze out small, local dispatch centers by reducing PSAP funding in an effort to consolidate services. Once voluntarily closed, though, the Cornelius call center could not, per the state, be reopened.

"If the argument for going with CMPD is economy of scale, it's that same scale that is the reason we left in the first place," Hoyle told commissioners.

That "reason" was displayed in two examples of recent calls in which local dispatchers went far beyond the norm of a larger agency. He cited an underage drinking party in which the dispatcher called numerous parents to arrange pickup of the kids involved, rather than having the officer spend time tracking down parents and perhaps even providing rides home. There was also the case of a stolen vehicle in Cornelius that was abandoned in Huntersville. Familiar with the area, the dispatcher called a number of businesses and the suspect was located and arrested.

Then there was the Alzheimer's patient who wandered away from his caretakers, but was located thanks to calls made by the dispatcher on duty.

"You can't expect CMPD to do that," Hoyle said of the level of service. "It goes way beyond what they do. ... You absolutely will feel the difference, and it's not CMPD's fault. It's just the way it is."

The numbers

Hoyle said the CMPD dispatch center handles 25,000 more calls per month than the Cornelius center handles each year. But it comes at a price. The 2011 budget for the local 911 dispatch center was $724,700, with combined local costs at $462,811. Huntersville's 62 percent share, per its current interlocal agreement with Cornelius, was $261,793. Because of a reduction in state funding, Huntersville will pay $115,000 more in fiscal year 2012.

Huntersville has argued that its level of control in the call center isn't commensurate with its funding level, and demanded either to reduce that balance of cost or increase its control. Recently, Huntersville gave the requisite six-months notice to Cornelius that it may exercise its option to take its dispatch business elsewhere, most likely to CMPD.

On paper, Hoyle said Huntersville's departure would result in $190,000 more cost to Cornelius to keep the call center open, but that gap is reduced when considering the actual cost CMPD would charge, administrative duties that are performed by dispatchers that would require additional personnel in their absence, and other factors.

The intangibles, though, are Hoyle's primary focus. With a dispatch center at the police station, it's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Last year, he said, there were 306 walk-ins during hours the department would otherwise be closed, all of which required some sort of police response. To maintain that level of service — keeping staff on duty around the clock — would cost $160,000.

The CPD would also lose its breathalyzer unit, which is owned by the state. That's because the state requires a department be open 24/7 to keep the unit in-house. Suspects would have to be transported to Charlotte for blood-alcohol testing, at a cost of officer time and travel. Also, every case that requires a criminal history, Hoyle said, by law requires a hand-delivered copy of that history. Dispatchers can provide that service now. With the center closed, officers would have to drive to Charlotte for that documentation.

Hoyle listed 10 other benefits to keeping the dispatch center open, and alluded to countless other intangibles. In summary, though, it was all about control of costs and of service.

"I am concerned about the future costs," Hoyle said. "We can't vote for anybody who is controlling the money in Charlotte and we have no other option when we close the doors. We have nowhere else to go."

He said he cannot reduce the cost dollar for dollar should Huntersville depart — there must be at least two dispatchers on duty at all times regardless — but he can offset some costs in part by delaying administrative support positions he says are needed. Even though operating a local call center puts more on Hoyle's plate, he said it's worth the effort.

"There are all kinds of reasons I would want dispatch to go to CMPD," Hoyle said, "but I am telling you there are reasons you don't want to do that."

No action was taken Monday, and Mayor Jeff Tarte suggested more discussions in the future before determining the fate of the call center. If not resolved before then, the issue will likely take center stage during the town board's annual budget retreat in March. But Hoyle said the dispatch staff is watching the proceedings, and likely won't wait as discussions regarding their employment status drag on.

"I would encourage you to make a decision as soon as possible because we will start losing staff, and the most experienced ones first," Hoyle said. "I request you get to a decision quickly, whatever that decision is."