Waukesha police chief does not want to consolidate city/county dispatch

WAUKESHA -- It's not his call, but if the Waukesha police chief has any say in it, he says he does not want the city and county to join forces and use the same emergency dispatch center.

Waukesha Police Chief Russell Jack says he is against consolidating the city's Dispatch Center with the Waukesha County Communications Center. "It would be an irresponsible decision. This would result in a cut in services, and a loss of control," Jack said.

Chief Jack discussed why he does not want to consolidate in a letter released.

The Waukesha County Communications Center released a comment about the letter, saying "the staff at WCC is well-trained, well-educated, has many years of dedicated service in dispatching and provides an exceptionally high level of service to the agencies they dispatch for and the citizens that rely on them in their moments of need."

"The City of Waukesha's Dispatch Center, in my opinion and from our study, shows we have the best dispatch center in Waukesha County. We would lose that high-quality of service that we enjoy now if we were to consolidate our dispatch center with Waukesha County Communication Center," Jack said.

The Waukesha County Communications Center released the following statement Tuesday: "It has always been the position of Waukesha County that if a municipality truly wants to evaluate the pros and cons of joining the County’s consolidated dispatch center that municipality needs to hire an outside consultant who can provide the expertise necessary to obtain an objective analysis.  The leadership of the Department of Emergency Preparedness for Waukesha County is proud of its dispatch staff, their dedication and professionalism, and the service they have provided to over 40 public safety agencies within Waukesha County.  Study after study has a common theme. The staff at WCC are well-trained, well-educated, have many years of dedicated service in dispatching and provide a exceptionally high level of service to the agencies they dispatch for and the citizens that rely on them in their moments of need."

Alderwoman Kathleen Cummings says the City of Waukesha Common Council is reviewing the information along with the feasibility study the police department released. The Common Council will have the final say on what happens next.

A public meeting to talk about the plan is set for April 17th.