Emergency dispatch services consolidated in Ruidoso

Under a joint powers agreement signed Wednesday, the emergency dispatch operations of the village of Ruidoso and the city of Ruidoso Downs will be consolidated under one operation in Ruidoso.

Representatives from the two communities met to discuss consolidation, and amended a draft of the agreement.

“We have had a working committee for several years evaluating the benefits, challenges and costs associated with consolidated dispatch,” Village Manager Debi Lee said Thursday.

“As a result, the governing bodies from the village of Ruidoso and the city of Ruidoso Downs met in a special meeting yesterday and heard a presentation from Bill Range, who is the state coordinator for E911, supporting the consolidation of dispatch services for the two entities.”

Range told officials that a strong trend is developing to combine public safety dispatch services through a (public safety answering point), because the benefits are a more efficient use of resources and  quicker response time, which could save lives, Lee said.

They also heard comments from Ruidoso Police Chief Darren Hooker, the village’s dispatch supervisor Katy Simpson and Lee, who recommended consolidated dispatch services.

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“I believe that by consolidating dispatch services, the citizens would see a benefit through improved and enhanced communications and coordination between agencies along with advanced emergency communication technology,” Lee said.

“Currently, the village of Ruidoso is one of the PSAPs in Lincoln County and is scheduled to receive new communication equipment in the next year. With our plans to move to the Horton Complex, this new equipment could be installed to support the consolidation and include consoles for up to six positions."

Village officials are designing the Horton Complex, a former Ruidoso Municipal School District building, to accommodate all village departments and services, as well as municipal court, and possibly an auxiliary building for magistrate and district court use.

“Both councils approved the Joint Powers Agreement to consolidate dispatch services and our next step is to submit names that will serve on the Enhance 911 Board,” Lee said. 

The E911 Board members would include one member to be proposed by the mayor of Ruidoso and confirmed by the council; one member from the mayor of Ruidoso Downs, confirmed by its council;  the police chiefs for both municipalities, the fire chief from Ruidoso and assistant chief from Ruidoso Downs; and Ruidoso’s emergency manager, a seat added on after a suggestion from Ruidoso Councilor Joe Eby.

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Ruidoso would cover 75 percent of the cost, while Ruidoso Downs would assume 25 percent.

Each entity would pay for personnel costs associated with the dispatchers. The number of calls originating in each municipality will be reviewed at the end of the first year. 

 “The analysis shows that this will have a minimal impact financially on Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs,” Lee said. “We are very pleased that we are moving forward to finalize this effort. “

No timeline was established for the consolidation. Hooker said the governing board needs to be established as a first step.

In the original draft, Ruidoso's mayor was to appoint two members, but that was reduced to one in the approved joint powers agreement.

Members will serve four-year terms and the chairman will be entitled to a vote.

“As a compromise between the rights of a board majority of four and those of a minority of three, each member will have one vote on all matters,” the Joint Powers Agreement states. “Decisions will be on majority vote of a quorum, except for the approval of the initial budget and all subsequent budgets, which will require a vote of at least five affirmative.”

The board will meet at least quarterly, will develop a transition plan, provide direction on matters of policy and budget, review revenue and adopt procedural rules of order. The board is prohibited from being involved in the day-to-day management of the consolidated communications center.

Reporter Dianne Stallings can be reached at 575-257-4001, ext. 4108 or dstallings@ruidosonews.com.