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Arapahoe County providing police dispatch for Sheridan
By Peter Jones
In another sign of government endeavoring to find greater efficiencies during an economic downturn, the City of Sheridan has contracted with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office to provide police dispatch services. The changeover began Oct. 1
According to city and county officials, the change in Sheridan’s communications-center service provider has proven to be a seamless one due to series of tests conducted prior to the switch.
“The contract, in my opinion, is an exceptional win-win for the community and for efficient government,” Sheriff Grayson Robinson said. “The City of Sheridan is having some challenges related to the economy. We were able to get them an exceptional level of service for a very reasonable price.”
Sheridan will pay Arapahoe County about $57,000 for services during the remainder of 2009 and will begin paying an annual fee of slightly more than $198,000 starting next year. The county’s fee is tied directly to the “actual cost of doing business,” Robinson said.
According to Sheridan City Manager A.J. Krieger, the city of nearly 5,900 people will save about $145,000 in fiscal year 2010 alone. But he stresses that the reasons for the changeover were not purely financial.
“It was certainly a primary consideration, but we have to have access to at least the same level of service, if not better,” he said. “There was a recognition that we probably really couldn’t afford to do it right anymore.”
As a result of the change, Arapahoe County has hired three additional employees for its communications center. Sheridan has laid off six people.
Nothing has changed effectively for Sheridan residents. If a citizen has an emergency situation, they still call 911. For all nonemergency situations they dial 303-795-4711. Nonemergency call greetings begin with “Arapahoe County Communications.”
Sheridan Police Cmdr. Diane Stone confirms that the changeover has been successful on her end.
“It’s working out excellent,” she said. “There’s always learning curves on both sides, but everything’s been going very well and professional on both sides.”
Still, there had been concern among some Sheridan residents about the county taking over what had been a city function for decades.
“Anytime you’re talking about making any kind of change related to public safety, it automatically arises a level of concern and I think that’s quite appropriate,” Krieger said. “But we’ve been able to demonstrate to people that access to technology and the resources that the sheriff’s office has surpasses what we were using.”
The Arapahoe County communications center was accredited in 2007 through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. It was the first public-safety organization in Colorado to earn communications accreditation.
The sheriff’s office is providing police communications and dispatch services for five other agencies located in Arapahoe County, including the City of Centennial, for which the county performs all law-enforcement services by contract.
Eight-year-old Centennial, population of 103,000, was founded as a “virtual city” and has long focused on contracting for city services that range from law enforcement to public works.
Any move by the much older and smaller City of Sheridan to follow Centennial’s lead and contract for a broader range of law-enforcement services would likely be as much political as practical,
“It might make sense,” Krieger said. “But that is always going to be a policy and value determination made by city council. There’s always that double threshold somebody is going to have to meet.”
According to city and county officials, the change in Sheridan’s communications-center service provider has proven to be a seamless one due to series of tests conducted prior to the switch.
“The contract, in my opinion, is an exceptional win-win for the community and for efficient government,” Sheriff Grayson Robinson said. “The City of Sheridan is having some challenges related to the economy. We were able to get them an exceptional level of service for a very reasonable price.”
Sheridan will pay Arapahoe County about $57,000 for services during the remainder of 2009 and will begin paying an annual fee of slightly more than $198,000 starting next year. The county’s fee is tied directly to the “actual cost of doing business,” Robinson said.
According to Sheridan City Manager A.J. Krieger, the city of nearly 5,900 people will save about $145,000 in fiscal year 2010 alone. But he stresses that the reasons for the changeover were not purely financial.
“It was certainly a primary consideration, but we have to have access to at least the same level of service, if not better,” he said. “There was a recognition that we probably really couldn’t afford to do it right anymore.”
As a result of the change, Arapahoe County has hired three additional employees for its communications center. Sheridan has laid off six people.
Nothing has changed effectively for Sheridan residents. If a citizen has an emergency situation, they still call 911. For all nonemergency situations they dial 303-795-4711. Nonemergency call greetings begin with “Arapahoe County Communications.”
Sheridan Police Cmdr. Diane Stone confirms that the changeover has been successful on her end.
“It’s working out excellent,” she said. “There’s always learning curves on both sides, but everything’s been going very well and professional on both sides.”
Still, there had been concern among some Sheridan residents about the county taking over what had been a city function for decades.
“Anytime you’re talking about making any kind of change related to public safety, it automatically arises a level of concern and I think that’s quite appropriate,” Krieger said. “But we’ve been able to demonstrate to people that access to technology and the resources that the sheriff’s office has surpasses what we were using.”
The Arapahoe County communications center was accredited in 2007 through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. It was the first public-safety organization in Colorado to earn communications accreditation.
The sheriff’s office is providing police communications and dispatch services for five other agencies located in Arapahoe County, including the City of Centennial, for which the county performs all law-enforcement services by contract.
Eight-year-old Centennial, population of 103,000, was founded as a “virtual city” and has long focused on contracting for city services that range from law enforcement to public works.
Any move by the much older and smaller City of Sheridan to follow Centennial’s lead and contract for a broader range of law-enforcement services would likely be as much political as practical,
“It might make sense,” Krieger said. “But that is always going to be a policy and value determination made by city council. There’s always that double threshold somebody is going to have to meet.”
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