Kevin Miller, Bangor Daily News (Maine)

BLUE HILL, Maine — Residents recently voted to send a message to Hancock County officials: Start collecting emergency dispatch user fees from every town or potentially forego Blue Hill’s share of the bill.

For several years now, Blue Hill Fire Chief Dennis Robertson has lamented what he claims is a fundamental inequity in the way the Hancock County Regional Communications Center is financed.

While Blue Hill and more than two dozen other towns pay user fees to the regional 9-1-1 call center, 11 other municipalities and one private ambulance service that have their own dispatchers do not pay those fees.

But Robertson points out that 9-1-1 calls to those towns are first routed through the Hancock County communications center, where staff then transfer the call to a local dispatcher who takes over from there.

“Those other 12 are not paying and they are getting the same service, and that is where the inequity lies,” Robertson said.

During town meeting earlier this month, Blue Hill voters approved an article written by Robertson indicating that the town may withhold user fees until Blue Hill receives assurances in writing that “the 11 towns and one private agency that receive identical service and currently do not pay for it are also required to pay in a fair and equal manner.”

Blue Hill Selectman Jim Schatz indicated in an interview that he believes it unlikely the town would withhold payments for the center, pointing out that an amendment to the original article gives selectmen some discretion. But he said the article sends a message.

“It allows us to go ahead and to have that discussion and make those arguments,” Schatz said.

Representatives from towns that handle their own dispatching disagreed, however, with any suggestion that they are skating by without paying their share. Funding for the comprehensive dispatch services comes from local taxpayers, they said.

“We don’t get free dispatching,” said outgoing Bucksport Town Manager Roger Raymond. “We pay for it here in Bucksport.”

Robertson’s contentions are part of a much larger discussion in Hancock County and indeed throughout Maine over who should handle 9-1-1 calls. Many towns that once employed their own dispatchers now rely on regional communications centers or state police and there has been discussion in Augusta about further consolidation.

But some towns both small and large have opted to maintain a staff of dispatchers because, they insist, local residents want it that way. Additionally, many dispatchers field all nonemergency calls into the police department, handle walk-ins and perform administrative tasks.

Ellsworth dispatchers, for instance, fielded 1,700 calls last month, an increase of more than 13 percent over last year. City Manager Michelle Beal said Ellsworth has looked at consolidating with the regional center and continues to discuss it. But at this point, the savings and efficiencies simply are not there because of all of the tasks that dispatchers handle.

“I would still have to hire a person during the day to take care of walk-ins,” Beal said.

Hancock County’s center has a total annual budget of roughly $650,000. Most of that comes from county taxes, with dispatching user fees accounting for roughly $90,000.

There were discussions this year to change the funding formula to build all costs into county taxes in an effort to ensure all towns are paying equally, but commissioner Steven Joy said the idea eventually was dropped for this year.

Joy, who was pushing for the change, said some critics had warned that the switch could result in smaller towns without dispatch centers actually paying more. But for Joy, the bigger issue is whether towns should continue to operate their own dispatch centers when the regional center could handle the calls, albeit with additional staff.

“I think it is certainly a good idea,” Joy said of consolidation. “Those towns spend around $1 million a year on dispatch and I think we could do it for that amount of money or less.”

Robertson insisted that his purpose is not to drive down the user fee costs to Blue Hill.

“It is not about the money and it is not about the [dispatching] service,” Robertson said. “The service is excellent and the fee is not high. As far as we are concerned, it is the equity.”

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