News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The town of Monterey will investigate costs associated with conducting police dispatching.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office currently conducts dispatching services free of charge for police departments in Algood, Baxter, and Monterey.
Monterey Police Chief Bill Randolph said he would like to discontinue that because of safety concerns.
“We’re running right now with all the sheriff’s department, with all of us, all of Algood, and all of Baxter on one frequency,” Randolph said. “90 percent of the time our officers can’t even check out on the radio when we stop a car.”
Randolph recommended that that the city conduct its own dispatching for police officers. He said the city might have access to equipment and could possibly use a fire department frequency.
“I don’t know if it’s big enough to hold us too, but at least try it Monday through Friday to get us off their frequency to where at least we’ve got a log sheet of where an officer stops a car at and where he’s at,” Randolph said. “This may not take place in the next month or two, but it’s something I want us to look into and the cost of it.”
Randolph said he’s also planning to hold a meeting with the county’s 911 center to see if they would be interested in doing the city’s dispatching.
“When the 911 center was first built, it was designed to be a central dispatch for everybody,” Randolph said. “I’m sure they’ve got the capabilities of doing it. What I’m looking at is what it’s going to cost on our part, on Algood’s part, and Baxter’s part. I want something that’s going to be feasible and not cost us an arm and a leg.”
Randolph made the dispatching requests during the first round of budget discussions Wednesday. City officials have asked him to continue investigating costs and searching for necessary equipment.
