The shared service with East Windsor was approved by council in a 4-2 vote
HIGHTSTOWN -- When a 911 call is placed in Hightstown, it will now be answered by dispatchers in East Windsor under a new shared service agreement that is expected to save the borough money.
The move was approved last week by council in a 4-2 vote. Council members Susan Bluth and Seth Kurs voted against it over concerns about the wording, but were in favor of the shared service deal, borough clerk Debra Sopronyi said.
East Windsor officials are expected to vote on a similar resolution Tuesday.
On average, the borough has spent between $440,000 and $450,000 on dispatch services, administrator Henry Underhill said.
But under the new agreement, the borough will pay East Windsor $168,000 for the first year. That annual charge will increase 3.5 percent for each of the following four years.
There's also an option to extend the agreement for two additional one-year terms.
Underhill said no jobs were lost with the move. Of the four dispatchers, one retired in July, one left to become a teacher, one left in November to take a job in another town and the last one went to work for the private company the borough had contracted in the interim.
"Everybody that we had was employed, just not with Hightstown," Underhill said.
Even though East Windsor will now be handling all police, fire and medical emergency calls, the shared service suggests nothing about the future of the borough's police department, Underhill said.
"This is just dispatch," he said.
Police outsourcing has been the subject of off-and-on-again discussions, with talks being renewed as recently as last year.
Underhill said the only other issue that was discussed was whether the police ordinance should be amended to include the rank of chief again.
In 2011, after much debate, council created a civilian police director position in a move that saved them $100,000. James LeTellier, who was hired in February 2012, later had a dual role as the interim administrator from May through October 2013.
He resigned in November 2014 after reaching a $60,000 settlement with the borough over claims he was unfairly passed over for the permanent administrator position.
Since his resignation, Lt. Frank Gendron has been serving as the superior officer in charge of the department.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.