GENESEE COUNTY
Genesee County emergency services to be consolidated
BATAVIA — The plan to consolidate city and county emergency response services— seemingly doomed only months ago — will be in place officially Monday following the approval Wednesday of an intermunicipal agreement at a special meeting of the Genesee County Legislature.
Currently, two city police dispatchers have moved to the county payroll and are working at the county’s $9 million Administration Building and Communications Center, which opened nearly one year ago.
The legislative vote was unanimous, as was an approval given Monday by the City Council.
Earlier this year, some Council members, police officials and downtown businessmen were against the merger, which would leave the downtown Police Headquarters open only for weekday office hours.
The opposition began to fade in March when the city, in adopting its $23.7 million budget for 2008-09, faced a 14 percent real property tax hike. The merger would save the city $200,000 a year and lower the tax increase to 10 percent.
The Advanced 911 Communications Center was financed by a $2.3 million state grant, and both the city and county have received state funds to help with the merger. Besides emergency responses, the consolidation involves a records management system.
The agreement is for 20 years, with termination by the city possible with six months’ notice.
The county and city will hold a joint news conference today to discuss the new setup, which requires changes in Batavia police dispatching and services.
