News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Monterey still doesn’t know what it will cost to conduct its own dispatching service for police officers.
Police Chief Bill Randolph said the price should be significantly less than what Putnam County 911 would charge.
“If 911 takes it over it would be $75,000 a year. I think that if we find a route to do it, at least Monday through Friday, it would take a lot of the traffic off (the radio),” Randolph said. “I’m still waiting on some prices for some equipment, which I think we can do for a quarter of the $75,000.”
The Putnam County Sherriff’s Office currently provides dispatching services for Algood, Baxter, and Monterey law enforcement agencies. Randolph said he wants to stop utilizing the service because of safety concerns.
“This is just ideas that I think in the future would make for some more officer safety and would relieve some traffic for Putnam County,” Randolph said. “I’m looking at other ways and other options where it’s not going to cost the city any money.”
Randolph has previously stated that the town may have access to equipment and could use a fire department frequency. He also pitched the idea of having Putnam County 911 take over the service.
Algood city officials have also discussed the possibility of handling non-emergency dispatching services for the police department. Baxter has no plans to discontinue the service provided by the sheriff’s office.
Randolph provided an update on pricing during the second round of budget talks with the Monterey Finance Committee. Alderman Nathan Walker said the city will hold off on making a decision until the committee has a better idea of the potential costs.
