ESSEX POLICE — The Essex Selectboard voted unanimously to execute a contract with the Town of Williston for shared police dispatch services on Dec. 5.
Along with Williston, Essex PD shares dispatch services with Essex Junction, Essex Rescue and the Westford Fire Department, though the Westford call volume is very low, according to Town Manager Greg Duggan.
“Both towns see this as a win-win in that we will both continue to have 24/7 dispatch coverage, and each municipality (three, if you include Essex Junction) will have more than one dispatcher on duty to help provide coverage,” Duggan stated in an email to the Reporter.
Essex PD first began sharing dispatch services with Williston PD this past summer, when the Vermont State Police stopped providing that service to Williston. Now their partnership is official with the signed contract.
Each municipality will continue to pay for their own dispatch costs so funding for the departments will not change.
The shared dispatch partnership will not increase the amount of response Williston PD has already been providing to Essex PD issues. If a call requires back-up or mutual aid beyond what Essex PD can provide, Williston PD will respond.
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