KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — Current and former Kalamazoo County sheriffs are trying to sell voters on the consolidation of the county’s 911 dispatch centers in advance of Tuesday’s election.
Sheriff Richard Fuller is asking voters to pay for it with a monthly phone surcharge increase from 42 cents to $2.30.
“We want to be able to save lives by shaving seconds off the time it takes to get from a dispatcher to a person coming to respond to your call,” Fuller said.
Tom Edmonds, an instructor at Western Michigan University who served as sheriff from 1984 to 2003, said he has been a long-time consolidation advocate.
“We are one of the last counties in the state to have more than two seperate answering points for public safety,” Edmonds said. “We have five of those.”
The Fraternal Order of Police opposes the move. They claim it may force its members to reapply for jobs they already have.
