911 merger study to be released

Madison and Onondaga counties recently used grant funds to study the sharing of programs that could provide a more effective, consistent, and effective 911 service. The results of that study are set to be released to the Madison County Board of Supervisors and the public on June 11.

Winbourne Consulting, the company hired to conduct the study, will deliver its examination of the feasibility of Madison and Onondaga counties merging 911 centers at a public meeting June 27 at 6:30 p.m. at Chittenango High School, 150 Genesee St., Chittenango.

The four-month study by Win

bourne examined how the counties could work toward improving public safety by an increased collaboration in the area of 911. The two counties already collaborate on maintenance of the system that serves as the core of both dispatching systems. This study examines how further collaboration and the sharing of services would benefit the citizens of both counties.

“Our goal is to create a world-class 911 service. We owe it to the citizens we serve to study ways to make this happen. This includes studying ways to partner with others,” said Ted Halpin, Madison County director of emergency management.

The study was one of 12 projects approved through New York State’s Municipal Restructuring Fund (MRF) to streamline the delivery of local services and reduce future costs to local tax payers. Madison County was awarded $50,000 for the project.

“This grant allowed us to discover how we can better serve the residents of Madison County. We look forward to hearing the results of the study performed by Winbourne Consulting,” said Madison County Chairman John M. Becker. “We plan to use their results as a benchmark for our 911 systems and as a way to seek out potential opportunities for improving our 911 services through partnering with Onondaga County. Our most important job as elected officials is to ensure the safety of our residents.”

Madison County Emergency Communications employs 20 people and receives approximately 32,000 calls annually. The report will be posted on the Madison County website on June 11 after the leadership of both counties are briefed on the study.