Homer City Council debated the pros and cons of a centralized emergency dispatch service at their Oct. 24 meeting.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has proposed consolidating dispatch services with the communities of Homer, Kenai and Seward. The centralized dispatch facility would be housed in Soldotna.
Homer City Council passed a resolution in a four to two vote, authorizing City Manager Katie Koester to either accept or reject the Borough's proposal for centralized dispatch services.
Council member Heath Smith argued the Council needed more information before making a decision on the issue.
“I think the fear and emotion of it, it makes it really easy to punt the ball on this, because we don’t have all the answers. I want the answers. To say no right now is to not give it a chance,” said Smith.
But Council member Catriona Reynolds said the cost-savings of consolidating dispatch services appear to be minimal.
“I haven’t been convinced whether this is a beneficial move forward,” said Reynolds.
Council member Tom Stroozas also pointed out that consolidating dispatch services in a central location could lead to a loss of valuable local information.
“Local knowledge is more than just knowing the local geography and our landmarks. If keeping it here locally saved one life, what kind of money do you attribute to that? You can’t put a price on anybody’s life,” said Stroozas.
Homer City Council originally passed a resolution on Oct. 24 in a four to two vote, authorizing the City Manager to either accept or reject the proposal for centralized dispatch services.
But Council member Donna Aderhold, who voted for the resolution, submitted an official notice of reconsideration on Oct. 25. Under Homer City Code, a council member who voted on the prevailing side may move to reconsider the council’s action within 48 hours of the original vote.
The resolution will now return to the Homer City Council for discussion on Nov. 21.