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Police Dispatch System To Be Replaced By 2009
By Catherine Galioto
The provider of the township police's dispatch system technology is flipping the switch, and the township will spend $800,000 to update its system.
The system is 15 years old, Business Administrator Scott Pezarras said. The provider is no longer maintaining the technology, requiring the township to get another computer software system.
Unix-based systems run the dispatch now, he said. The township will spend $800,000 to find and test a replacement system to put in place by 2009. That's the deadline from the township's provider, the hour they'll take the current system off-line.
The system serves as the police department's dispatch, an obvious and essential part of public safety, officials said.
"You can't put a price on public safety," Councilman Anthony Matthews said.
The township will hustle to replace and test the new system.
"We want to get it done as soon as possible," Council President Stephen Acropolis said. "We're a little upset the provider just told us they're going to flip the switch."
Pezarras said the change will come in 2009. However, he argued, that's really not a long time away. He said the township will need a lot of time to convert its processing, test the system off line and online, and generally monitor its use before shutting down the current system. He said the systems will be working concurrently for a time.
There remain kinks to work out as the township incorporates the new technology. Time to work out those kinks has to be factored into any changeover, Pezarras said.
The system the township is hoping to buy is currently in use at Lakewood, and is the same system Toms River officials are considering. Three contiguous towns all using the same system could make integration of services more feasible, Acropolis noted.
Pezarras said he and other officials have viewed the presentations of the police department and have seen the budget for the project, which is already approved. The next step is finding a contractor to complete the work.
The township council unanimously agreed to seek bids for the project.
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