The town of Porter has approved its side of an agreement to close the joint police dispatch center with Chesterton by Oct. 1 and consolidate with the Porter County E-911 system.
The Town Council Tuesday unanimously approved the resolution to mutually terminate the agreement on their dispatch center.
Chesterton has yet to formally act, but town officials have stated their intent to close the dispatch center and consolidate operations with Porter County.
The change was prompted by the Porter County Commissioners on April 1 enacting a new standard operating procedure for its Porter County E-911 system. The 911 calls received by the county dispatch were no longer transferred to the Chesterton/Porter dispatch center.
Chesterton and Porter had operated the joint dispatch center for their police departments since 2014. Porter County E-911 was already handling fire emergency dispatching for the two towns.
Porter had explored other possibilities to retain its dispatch center, including the possibility of joining the National Park Service’s dispatch, but decided that consolidating with Porter County E-911 was the best course.
Council passed the resolution with few comments. Council President William Lopez, D-Ward 3, said that the intent is to have the joint dispatch center closed by Oct. 1 at the latest.
In other business, the council formally approved hiring Barnes and Thornburg law firm of Indianapolis, which made arrangements for the town to obtain a $1.65 million general obligation bond.
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Council also approved the appropriation of the $1.65 million in bond funds, which will be used mostly toward financing the purchase of a used 2024 ladder truck for $1.35 million from Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus in Union Grove, Ala.
The ladder truck will replace a 26-year-old fire engine. Porter Fire Chief Jay Craig Jr. has said that a new fire truck would have cost around $2 million and it would take months for delivery.
Lopez said he appreciated the work of town officials on this deal because it “saved us a lot of money.”
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.