Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Morris will suggest to Governor LePage that the State consolidate to just two Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP).
PSAPs are 24-hour facilities with “enhanced 9-1-1 capability.” A PSAP center receives 9-1-1 calls and directly dispatches emergency services or transfers such calls to public safety agencies.
Lincoln County 9-1-1 Communications Director Tim Pellerin notified the Lincoln County Commissioners of Morris’ plan at their regular meeting Sept. 20.
Morris will advocate consolidating the state’s 26 PSAP centers into just two, one situated in the north, the other in the south. Dispatch centers would be left untouched.
Morris’ plan would go further than the state-commissioned Kimball Report, which called for the reduction of PSAPs from 26 to between 15 and 17.
Using the Kimball Report guidelines, the Maine Public Utilities Commission created a consolidation plan in August 2010 that would set the number of PSAPs at 16, or one for each county.
Under the PUC’s plan, the Lincoln County PSAP center would be left untouched. Morris’ proposal, however, would see the Lincoln County PSAP removed.
Commissioner Sheridan Bond questioned the wisdom of going beyond the Kimball Report’s guidelines.
“We’re just going to throw out the Kimball Report with thousands of hours of research?” Bond asked incredulously.
Morris’ concern appears to stem from the four state PSAP centers’ inability to cope with an increasingly high volume of cell phone calls and the costs associated with them. The state PSAP centers, except for Lincoln County, are the only answering points in the state that receive such calls.
The two PSAP centers created under Morris’ plan would be funded entirely by a 911 surcharge placed on all phones in Maine.
Pellerin sharply rebuked Morris’ proposal, calling it dangerous and merely a way to save money.
“This is nothing more than a political venture to save money, “Pellerin said. “This will jeopardize public safety.”
Pellerin said the problem would be solved if the state would allow PSAP centers to function at the county level, including allowing them to receive cell phone calls.
“All PSAP centers have asked for cell phone calls,” Pellerin said.
Pellerin likened Morris’ plan to the highly controversial efforts to consolidate the state’s jails and school systems.
“The state needs to not fool around with PSAP 911 centers,” Pellerin said.
The Maine Emergency County Communications Association, or MECCA, will be meeting Tuesday, Oct. 4 at the Waldo County Regional Communications Center to discuss the developments.
“Morris is very close with the Governor,” Lincoln County Administrator John O’Connell said, “It’s going to be a tough fight.”
Though it is ultimately up to the Legislature to determine PSAP consolidation, Governor LePage could wield some influence in the Republican-controlled House and Senate should he be swayed by Morris’ plan.
Commissioner Morris could not be reached by press time.