Rutland, Derby 911 centers closing early

Emergency call-taking centers in Rutland and Derby will close about two weeks earlier than planned because of a lack of staff, Vermont State Police Capt. Donald Patch confirmed Thursday.

Vermont has been planning to consolidate its four public safety answering points (PSAPs) into two centers in Williston and Rockingham as a cost-saving measure.

The Rutland and Derby PSAPs had been scheduled to close Sept. 17 and 18, respectively.

Dispatchers were told Thursday that the changes would take effect Sept. 1 and 2 because staffing levels are too low to maintain operations.

“We’ve run out of people to staff the shifts,” said Patch, project manager for the PSAP consolidation.

Some dispatchers have been finding other jobs, he added.

The state employees’ union wants to ensure that any dispatchers unable to transfer to Williston or Rockingham get full rights under their contract, despite the early closures.

“Our members were very clear staring in January with lawmakers and with the administration that this was a likely outcome of their policy,” said Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association, “that it was not a well-thought-out policy and that they were going to have a hard time transitioning and staffing these facilities.”

The early closure dates conflict with instructions from legislators in the state budget.

After many controversial discussions about the PSAP consolidation plan, lawmakers set aside money to keep the Rutland and Derby centers open through Sept. 15.

“The centers in Derby and Rutland shall remain dispatching centers for the local emergency service providers in those areas until September 15, 2015,” reads the budget language.

This story was first posted on Aug. 20, 2015. Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank