STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — A special city council meeting in Strongsville Tuesday night will consider combining 911 operations and dispatchers with a bigger regional dispatch center. It’s a move city leaders believe could save money, but others worry it could impact emergency responses.
For more than a decade, Strongsville has operated the Southwest Emergency Dispatch Center (SWEDC). Dispatchers there currently field calls for Strongsville, Berea, Brook Park, North Royalton and Middleburg Heights.
On July 30, the union representing SWEDC dispatchers and the area’s patrol officers received a letter from Strongsville’s law department informing the group of the city’s plans to transfer dispatch operations to Chagrin Valley Dispatch (CVD).
“It’s really the first we heard about it and knew about it. And of course, right away we started getting calls of concern,” said attorney Brian Smith, the labor counsel for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 15.
The letter, titled “Cessation of City-run Dispatch Operations,” said operations would likely transfer to CVD on or before February 26, 2024.
CVD currently employs 94 dispatchers handling emergency communications for 33 municipalities. Smith said he’s heard many concerns that calls into the larger dispatch center wouldn’t get the same attention they receive now.
“They work in Strongsville, they know Strongsville and the connected communities. They know the locations, the hot spots and they know the officers,” he said of the SWEDC dispatchers.
News 5 has covered other dispatch consolidations and mergers in recent years. A 2013 Ohio law limits counties to three 911 dispatch centers, excluding those in large cities. Counties with more than three dispatch centers risk losing half of their state funding.
In 2022, a similar discussion in Lakewood sparked concerns.
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“Someone who’s never visited Lakewood in their entire life could be handling calls for this city when minutes count the most,” one dispatcher said at the time.
Neighbors near Strongsville tell News 5 emergency services have always responded quickly.
“Luckily where they live and where our parents live it’s like less than a minute they get to us,” said Lauren Diederich.
They hope a transition to a larger dispatch center would not change that.
“If they can keep it at the same response time, it’s OK. But that remains to be seen,” said Tanya Rice.
The Strongsville Police Chief said if city council approves the move, dispatchers would stay in their current building for a few months. After they transition to CVD, they would likely be part of a “pod” that would still answer calls for the southwest cities with which they’re familiar.
Smith said many such details have not been shared in writing with the union, and many of its members have lingering questions. He expects many will press Strongsville City Council to pause any decisions until the information is clearer.
“Consider this carefully and not quickly,” Smith said of his message to council members. “It’s a critically important decision that affects the safety of those communities, of Strongsville, of 37 dispatchers who’ve put their careers in, the patrol officers, the firefighters who rely on them.”
If city council passes an ordinance to enter into an agreement with CVD, dispatchers will have 60 days to decide whether to transfer from SWEDC. Agencies currently using SWEDC services will have 6 months to find a new communications center.
Berea has already agreed to a contract with North Olmsted’s dispatch center. The other cities said they’re currently weighing their options.
