Council Makes Decision on 911 - Goes with ChatComm

Calls to 911 in Dunwoody will soon be picked up at a new call center.

Monday night, after nearly a year of discussions on the issue, the Dunwoody City Council voted 5-2 to enter into an agreement with ChatComm, a private 911 service provider that already works with Sandy Springs and Johns Creek.

The council chose ChatComm over staying with DeKalb County, despite a higher price tag.

“They answer the phone faster. They have much faster call answering times. They have much better reporting and metrics collection,” said Councilman Robert Wittenstein. “Most importantly, their people are more professional. You hear it in their voice, you see it in their attitude. It’s a place that there will be people who consider themselves partners with the police department.”

The council talked about the issue during a work session prior to the council meeting Monday.

While city staff recommended going with ChatComm, Councilman Danny Ross, who has been a vocal advocate for staying with DeKalb County’s service, urged the council to table a decision and hire an independent consultant to look at the issue.

Ross was also concerned about cost as well as response time to fire and EMS calls, which would first to the ChatComm and then be forwarded to DeKalb County.

“It is a life or death decision we are making tonight,” Ross said.

Further, it is a higher cost. Ross’s estimates were higher than those made by the city administration. He figures that ChatComm would cost between $1.3 and $1.8 million over the next three years.

“You an do an awful lot with $1.3 million on our streets,” he said.

According to city estimate, there would be a one-time start up fee of about $570,00 and an annual cost of $1.075 million.

The city administration believes the city will bring in a little more than $1 million per year in phone fee revenues, which will offset that cost.

Other costs include fees for county radio use, which the city estimates to be about $50,000 annually and fees for fire dispatching from the county, which would cost around $110,000 in 2011.

In total according to a memo from Hutmacher, the city would be on the hook for about $307,384 per year with ChatComm.

While the cost is higher with the private company, many councilors said they’d heard from police officers a lot of support for going with ChatComm.

"It's an easy decision to make if it is just about money, but its not just about money," said Councilwoman Adrian Bonser. "I'm going to go with what's been requested by our Chief of Police."

Councilman Doug Thompson agreed.

“The police department says that’s our weak link in public safety,” Thompson said. “That for me has got to override my frugality. I think its time to move to ChatComm.”