FALMOUTH — It was a busy day June 15 in several public safety departments, as Yarmouth and North Yarmouth officially transferred emergency dispatch services to Falmouth.

“It’s gone very well,” Lt. John Kilbride of the Falmouth Police Department said Tuesday. “We’ve not had any setbacks yet.”

Elaine Walsh, of the Yarmouth Police Department, said the transition was going smoothly late Tuesday afternoon, and that everything would be transferred to Falmouth by the end of the day.

The transition came after the Yarmouth Town Council voted in February to consolidate the town’s dispatch services with Falmouth.

The consolidation will save Yarmouth approximately $200,000 per year and generate $157,000 in revenue for Falmouth, most of which will cover the cost of hiring more dispatchers. Yarmouth will pay $137,000 and North Yarmouth will pay $20,000.

Falmouth hired two of Yarmouth’s five dispatchers, bringing the total number of dispatchers in the office to seven, including the supervisor.

Two years ago a Yarmouth citizen petition overturned a Town Council decision to consolidate dispatch services with Cumberland County. While Falmouth also investigated consolidating with the county, the new consolidation with Yarmouth will allow the service to remain in Falmouth for the foreseeable future.

Emily Parkhurst can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or eparkhurst@theforecaster.net


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: