I'm curious, who is part of this "subcommittee"?

as one of the millburn police dispatchers we were told about a month ago by mr.gordon that as of jan 1st 2013 livingston WILL be dispatching for millburn short hills and that livingston will NOT hire any millburn dispatchers. yes i want to keep my job but what do livingston dispatchers know about millburn short hills? how can this have "no affect at all on the residents"? bottom line is that the residents of millburn short hills will be second to livingston.

Seems like there has not been any issue with fire dispatching being in Summit.

What dept do you think gets more calls, police or fire? I'm sure Mr Gordon can find other ways to save money.

In the times I placed non-emergency calls to the MPD during hours when the regular non-police officer dispatchers were on duty, I experienced the following:
1. Lack of knowledge
2. Failure to follow procedure (twice) as per Chief Weber
3. An apparent lack of geographical familiarity with the town (including the downtown area on one occasion)

If sending this function to Livingston maintains this same level of service but at a savings to the town, it'd be a win in my book. If I had none or less of the above experiences, then I'd be more inclined to agree that they're a part of the community and shouldn't go anywhere.

I would like to point out, though, that each and every MPD officer I've ever dealt with has known exactly what they were doing and acted in nothing but the most professional manner.

Mr.MarkDS, do you know that the twp is paying over two houndred thousand dollars a year for fire dispatch? do you know chief roberts would not want fire dispatch in millburn because he does not want to be "second fiddle" to mpd. Mr. Fonseca i have been doing this job for over 16 years, id likle to talk with you to see where i went wrong

More than 18,000 police calls to the roughly 1,200 fire calls in the year 2011, just an FYI. Compare that or rather add that to Livingston's calls, Livingston being larger than both our towns put together. Also it is said, as stated above, that Livingston is NOT hiring anyone from Millburn. That sounds like a lot of calls for Livingston to handle alone. In addition, Livingston now has double the work. If they have a busier than average day that's 3x, and if Millburn has one the same day, that's 4x the workload. I feel bad for the Livingston dispatchers already.

The fundamental difference between police and fire dispatch, when a 911 call is made to report a fire in Millburn/Short Hills the call is first received by the Millburn police dispatcher who then transfers it to the Summit fire dispatch. While the call is being transferred the police dispatcher has immediately dispatched a police unit to the scene to evacuate, secure and asses the scene until the fire department arrives on scene

When a 911 medical aid is received, it is the dispatcher that coordinates where and how the FAS will respond, giving them any special instructions, updates or important information that would be needed. What happens when a young child is choking and the caller tells the dispatcher that help is needed at the gazebo in Taylor park, will the Livingston dispatcher know where that is? What if your car just rolled over on JFK or Rt 24 and the FAS needs to know the  best direction to go. 
How about a shopper who just had their purse snatched at the mall near Macy's let's hope a dispatcher does not send a Livingston officer to the Livingston mall. 

Seems whenever I've had to call 9-11 because I saw accident, or found a lost old man with Alzheimers, I used my cell phone and got out of town dispatchers anyway....so many people only use cell phones these days, what's the difference?

"The fundamental difference between police and fire dispatch, when a 911 call is made to report a fire in Millburn/Short Hills the call is first received by the Millburn police dispatcher who then transfers it to the Summit fire dispatch. While the call is being transferred the police dispatcher has immediately dispatched a police unit to the scene to evacuate, secure and asses the scene until the fire department arrives on scene.
When a 911 medical aid is received, it is the dispatcher that coordinates where and how the FAS will respond, giving them any special instructions, updates or important information that would be needed. What happens when a young child is choking and the caller tells the dispatcher that help is needed at the gazebo in Taylor park, will the Livingston dispatcher know where that is? What if your car just rolled over on JFK or Rt 24 and the FAS needs to know the best direction to go.
How about a shopper who just had their purse snatched at the mall near Macy's let's hope a dispatcher does not send a Livingston officer to the Livingston mall." - Deidre Materia, who emailed me her comment for publication.

"Residents need to also ask themselves who is going to have priority when it comes to the next hurricane or snow storm? Will Livingston dispatchers fairly dispatch already rare power trucks or will Millburn/Short Hills residents take a back seat to Livingston residents. During these storms all the out of state power trucks are stationed in the parking lot of Livingston mall. Our town can go days without power as it is!" - Deidre Materia, who emailed me her comment for publication.

If you look at back of Millburn Item form 7/26/2012, you'll see budgets approved by town council. Under the fire department one of the things they are buying is a snow plow for Station 2. I thought Millburn had a D.P.W. that did the snow plowing. What's the FD going to use it on, the driveway in front of the building. Now's there's a waste of money.

"The concept of countywide dispatch Shared Services and Consolidation is not new to public safety. It is being performed across the US as well as in several counties here in New Jersey. The Bergen County mentality of “home rule” seems to be delaying Bergen County from moving forward and catching up with technology."

Bergen County Police Chef invites all those involved to work together to make this state-of-the-art facililty the best it can be to best serve our residents.

8. www.njsharedservices.org Examples of Shared Services Currently Being Provided Information Technology (IT) Centralized Police Dispatch, 911 Emergency Communications Consolidation of Public Work Facilities & Departments Animal Control / Animal Shelters Mosquito Control & Gypsy Moth Spraying County Records Management /Retention for Municipalities Transportation Resources for the Disadvantaged and Elderly Countywide Fleet Maintenance & Purchasing Regional Vehicle Wash Facilities Parks and Recreation Facilities / Staff and Maintenance Police Protection Mergers Countywide Tax Assessments and Revaluations Countywide Stormwater Maintenance and Compliance County Health Department / Regionalized Health Services County Library System County Sponsored Municipal Job Fairs Shared School District Superintendents and Personnel Customized Training Programs County Recycling Programs County Landfill Police and Fire Training Academies Regional Planning and Economic Development GIS (Geographical Information Systems)

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0213/0002/
New Jersey Gets Serious About Sharing Core Services
Consolidation initiatives are sweeping the state, with governor and legislature adding bipartisan backing

Shared services are a fact of life and with proper implementation they can save taxpayers much needed funds. The question with an affluent community like Millburn-Short Hills is this the proper way to save money.
It seems to me that having our own dispatchers handle police/fire/EMS we would realize an immediate savings of a quarter million dollars annually. Chief Roberts' refusal has cost six ublic servants their jobs. To pay $250.00 per "call" is an outrage. Especially when their "calls" are mainly house lock outs and water in basement tye of calls. Tim Gordon must stop ceding total control of public safety to Mike Roberts at the FD. Mr. Roberts judgement is to be questioned. This is a man who was cited for reckless driving by the New Jersey State Police while operating a department issued vehicle. Did Tim Gordon reprimand him for this? The answer is no.

The key words being "county dispatch" That would be great if Essex County had such a facility but unfortunately  there is no such thing. Towns that have moved to a county dispatch center do not pay for those services, the are already incorporated in the taxpayers dollars. Millburn/Short Hills will be paying not one but two other towns for emergency services. Is this going to cut our taxes? 
I am sure if you asked any Morris/Somerset county resident if they are happy with the service you will get mixed reviews.  I know of several towns that went to a county dispatch center and their dispatchers were encouraged to move over since they know the workings of  "their" town and it would help for an easy transition. There are also residents that are displeased with these services due to lack of knowledge on a dispatchers end and not being familiar with an area. An emergency that took several minutes to be located and proper authorities dispatched to, almost ended in tragedy because of an error at county dispatch. 
What works for a rural part of the state/country will not always work for a township's populated like Millburn/Short Hills and Livingston. 
We have to ask ourselves this, why is the town trying to hide this move? Why hasn't it been openly mentioned before this article was published?  Why will it be discussed voted on at a closed door township meeting in August? It seems that they have a agenda and want to keep the residents/taxpayers in the dark. 

I have felt for a long time that there are too many towns in this state of ours, with duplicative, inefficient and overlapping services. There is really no state like this, other than maybe Florida and parts of California. Consolidation is a good idea, but of course no one wants to be the town that "loses" control. But if nobody gives it up, the inefficiency continues. Let's get real; this is a decent idea with substantial cost savings -- we just need some quality assurance.

Again, it seems as if the town is not being completely open and honest about the "possible" consolidation. I am sure there are other fees than just a yearly contract. What about equipment maintenance and upgrades? Is Millburn held liable for any of those additional fees? What is the fee to transfer all necessary lines and equipment for communications, i.e. telephones or radios? What other fees are being paid out to Summit Fire besides the annual $300,000 plus. I am sure their equipment must be upgraded/maintained? If the town wants to consolidate, why not start in their own yard, bring all services back home.
There was a study done for the fire dispatch consolidation was there one done for police?
In the end, the town wants to save money and this “subcommittee” has now put a price on our safety and the safety of our children.

Craig, is there a way to find out about; 1. All monies that the town pays out to Summit Fire for dispatch services, maintenance and or upgrades? 2. The entire cost and any other “hidden” fees of a consolidation with Livingston that would cost the town? 3. Was there a study done? 4. Why is this “possible consolidation” such a secret if the township dispatchers have already been given their notice for January 1st?

Shame there isn’t enough room to give all the information on this site, but this is an issue that will have a negative effect on the public safety of the entire Township. Some fast thoughts based on what other people have said:

1) Summit Fire Dispatch in both 1987 and 1990 had incidents where they were so overwhelmed they stated they wouldn’t be able to help Millburn FD, with the FD having no way of dispatching themselves. The 1987 incident was a major brush fire on the railroad tracks and 1990 incident was a basement fire on Spring Street. Check old editions of the Item, this was reported. What happens when LPD is too busy, like during a hurricane to dispatch MPD? Forgetting our history will result in repeating the mistakes of the past.

2) MPD dispatch, like all entities has had challenges, but based on the system, call ratio, and antiquated resources and equipment the dispatchers do an overall amazing job. They are critical on keeping the people of this community safe, in addition to the public safety personnel serving this community.

3) An immediate cost savings would be to have MPD take over Summit Dispatching. The present FD dispatch situation is not cost effective, nor is it safe (moving to Livingston PD would only potentially increase the danger of this situation). NFPA guidelines state that fire grows exponentially, so if firefighters can get to the fire quicker, there is a lesser chance of the fire growing out of control. Not having MPD dispatch MFD is a matter of internal politics and not in the interest of public safety, nor is it cost effective for the call run of MFD.

4) Although when 911 was instituted in NJ in the 1990’s, PSAP (public safety answering points) were supposed to be regional. This concept never worked in the busy urban and suburban areas and could not be implemented into the public safety paradigm that exists in NJ. If MPD was part of a complete regional department, this integration could work, but atlas it is not, it is one of 22 municipal police departments in Essex County. The various procedures of the various law enforcement agencies will preclude this from working correctly and no matter how hard the various agencies work, will result in diminished public safety. MPD with over 20,000 incidents a year and estimated 100,000 telephone calls coming into MPD Dispatch will not work in an equally busy community of Livingston. In backrooms high ranking members of the public community of Livingston PD and FD have expressed their concern and also do not believe this is going to be successful. The only one who is behind this proposal in LPD is their business administrator who has a history of negative public safety interactions.

5) Not to get into the various systematic ways that communication systems use, suffice to say that during Tropical Storm Irene if MPD was dispatched in LPD there would have been a complete communication crash of radio dispatch, 911, and telephone systems. You will just have to take my word on this that I know this to be true. To rectify and build the redundancies, so that this would not occur into the public safety communication systems would negate any cost savings for decades that Millburn is trying to achieve. It is possible, but very expensive.
6) Public safety communications is not cheap. For multiple years Millburn Township had budgeted money for public safety upgrades to the MPD System. Again we ask the question, why Town Hall officials didn’t allow MPD to spend the money to improve and upgrade the system? We further have to ask, what happened to that money that elected officials decided would be used to upgrade the system?

Public safety is not cheap, nor can it run like a business with a profit margin. Public safety should be run utilizing the best established practices. Just like we do with our school system, politics should stay out of the system and the residents of Millburn should demand the best when it is the safety of their lives, families, homes, and businesses on the line. Millburn has lots of areas that could result in savings from the reduced revenue; don’t let it be in this area.
Unfortunately this seems to be a done deal done without public input and already decided in the shadow government of Millburn and that is truly a sad commentary. No matter if you are for or against this proposal, something this important should be debated in the sunshine of the Township Committee chambers and not in the dark and shady locations out of the reach of the public and press. The employees were already told they would be losing their jobs, before the public was even informed that this service would be lost. I think the people of Millburn deserve better.

Heed Chief Weber’s warning in the Item. He is an expert and knows this isn’t a good idea. Trust his decades of experience he is a good man and knows law enforcement and public safety.

One more thing... ""It won't affect the residents at all," Gordon said. "The fire department dispatch has been shared since 1970."

Fire dispatch was moved to Summit, post Paper Mill Fire in the 1980's.. Let's get our facts straight..

Craig, one issue I do not see addressed is the dispatching of the First Aid Squad, which is currently handled by MPD dispatchers. The dispatchers tone out calls, coordinate back up crews, relay updates from officers on scene, get ETAs on paramedics units and when needed coordinate meeting spots, etc. How will dispatch moving to LPD impact this community the next time an ambulance is needed?

Well said MPD, whoever you are. You are on the money. Millburn Public have to attend the meeting on the 21st and try to do what is right. Deals made in the dark by this 'subcommittee' are inappropriate when they affect the entire public. The fact of the matter is that the 'cost' of losing Millburn Public Safety dispatch drastically outweighs the 'savings'. I can't understand why Fire Chief Roberts and the Twp Committee do not realize that Millburn wins in so many ways by simply moving Fire Dispatch back to MPD, they save 200k per year, decrease response time for the FD and potentially save a house or life, I think the latter is enough reason alone.

Now if you want to talk about incompetence of Mike Roberts, let’s talk about when Mike was a Battalion Chief and lead the charge to spec out a new tower-ladder truck. Despite warnings in all the fire professional journals he bought a lemon, which was supposed to last 20-years. Well within 2-years it had to be sold and new one purchase.. Oh an $800,000 mistake. But they made him fire chief.
Before that, Tim Gordon also passed another man for the battalion chief’s position, so that he could make his friend Mike.
And yes, Mike did get a ticket from a NJ State Trooper while driving an official fire vehicle. He tried to have the FMBA get it fixed and failed at that. Sort of corrupt, he even told us about it a local FMBA event.
He was even given a ticket for parking overnight, in violation of Millburn ordinance in front of his home. He still parks there, even after he was found guilty and Tim Gordon had to pay for a lawyer to fight a ticket issued by the Millburn Police.
Mike hates the Millburn Police, this is all about politics and Mike’s inferiority complex with police. 90% of the cops and firefighters are friends and work really well together, this is Mike making problems.

I started this post on Monday with this question...and I'll ask again....Who is part of this "subcommittee"? I want names and credentials.

Now the plot thickens. The police department has said from day one that this is a bad idea and not in the interest of public safety. Someone isn’t telling the truth; is it the police (I don’t think so) or have the elected officials been led astray by other forces? This is a real bad idea, if our Township Committee cares about lives and property, they will save police dispatch, have MPD dispatch MFD, save the money from not paying Summit FD to do this task, and look for other ways to save taxpayer money and still stay under the 2% cap.
If money is such a problem and public safety can’t be accomplished, I suggest we sell the Paper Mill Playhouse property to a private concern, stop buying ratable properties in the downtown Millburn area in anticipation for a Town Hall we will never build, or consider eliminating other non-life threatening programs.
We don’t have our own health department, we don’t pick up our own trash anymore, we share a variety of other services; although I realize this is a reality in these tough times, soon there won’t be a Township worth having. Maybe we should just cede our boarders to Maplewood and Livingston.

Wait, so Mayor Haimoff said McDermott is on the subcommittee not Tillitson? So, is there really a subcommittee or not? How can you make a mistake like that?

I would like to know if this idea/project the town is planning for dispatch is going to end up like the speed bump plan from a few years back. From what I remember that ended as fast as it began. Why do the council people spend the town's money frivolously on projects that do not help us at all? And second question why does this council belive they can make big risk decisions for the town without discussing them with us, the people who they represent?

The answer to the Big Show's question is simple. Tim Gordon has been running this town for almost thirty years. That is unheard of for that type of position. He is a control freak and he tells the committee what to do. Committees past and present have enboldened him. They have voted to pay his legal bills for lawsuits resulting from his own actions (old short hills park for once). Gordon gave a deposition in Baldani Vs. Millburn and the town paid his bill. In that deposition Gordon admits to being charged with stealing tax money when he ran Pleasantvill. He never told Millburn officials when they hired him. This council paid his defense bill when the PBA charged him with misconduct criminally

http://www.cliffviewpilot.com/editorial/2230-me-first-heres-how-much-you-really-pay-for-police-fire-in-nj

See latest article: "Currently, the Millburn dispatchers cost an average taxpayer an estimated $73 annually and with the shared services proposal it will lower the costs to an estimated $67."

Is saving $6 a year for an avg. taxpayer really worth the service loss by this move?

In addition to KC's comment, what would the cost drop to if we moved Fire dispatch from Summit to our home town?!?!? How come no one has asked this question? We spend how much a year for fire to Summit and now police to Livingston. If this is all about consolidation, why not fire and police be dispatched from the same place WITHIN OUR OWN TOWN, what do you think Cheif Roberts?

In addition, Taxpayers WILL NOT be seeing tax reductions because of this merger, which people forget to see.