Having worked in Gorham Dispatch for six years I was surprised to find out recently that so many people in our local government could have been working right along beside me in the chair as they seem to think they know the job of emergency communications better than those of us that do it daily. For the town manager, councilors, fire chief, and police chief to make comments on how an emergency communications center works is not only laughable, it is down right scary. I can’t recall the last time that I saw any of the above working in the communications center.

I recall a letter from Chief Lefebvre of the fire department a few years ago that was degrading to the dispatch staff, in which he said he had in fact been a dispatcher in the past. Although I don’t know that to be a fact, I am sure that may be true. Having said that, he was a dispatcher in a different time when the job was very different. It is no longer a position that answers phones and takes messages, it is a vital part of public safety in the present day.

The town manager and Councilor Loveitt continue to stand behind their decision that dispatching by the county will not only prove to be a cost savings but will also give the dispatchers a better working environment, the police officers a better dispatch service, and the town an improved service for their money. I can tell you without a doubt that all of the above are false.

If money is needed to be cut from the dispatch budget, I assure you there are places to do so without eliminating the entire division. Perhaps we could eliminate the supervisor of the center that was paid far too much money given the service he was providing to the department. Supervision could be turned over to police Lt. Sanborn in order to keep costs down. By making this one cut in staff, the center would save approximately $70,000, darn close to what the town says they will save after having spent half that of what they told the public would be saved.

I fail to see that county will make for a better work environment for the current Gorham dispatchers. Not only will they be forced into more overtime than they presently are, but they will be forced to loose their seniority and made to perform more of a workload than they currently do. Dispatcher’s had a choice of where to apply for their jobs, and they chose Gorham for a reason (and I assure you that money was not the deciding factor). When I took a position with Gorham in 1999, I took a pay cut from the job I had been working, but enjoyed the work and the town much more. I have also been employed with the county part-time for several years and was offered a full-time position on more than one occasion. Why do you suppose it is that I turned it down and remained where I was? Could it be that I felt I was better off in Gorham? So far, I have heard administrators that know absolutely nothing about dispatch get on their high horse and yell as loud as they can that this merger is a good thing, and yet, every police officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician and dispatcher I have spoken with or seen voice their opinion publicly has stated what a drastic life threatening mistake this is. Whose opinion is of more value here?

Picture yourself as a police officer who is given a call to a house on “any road” in Gray. You respond code 3 (lights and siren) to the report of a prowler and inquire with your dispatcher what the directions are to the house, they tell you they didn’t get them because it is your job as a police officer to know the area you patrol. You, the police officer, ask the dispatcher to get a description of the house, and they provide the information that they have and then realize, “oops, I sent you to the wrong town. The house is actually in Raymond on a road with the same name of that as the one that you responded to.”

Now imagine the police officer finally arrives and finds the front door of the house open and, as he walks up the driveway, hears gunshots. The prowler has just shot the caller. It looks as though this time those minutes wasted being sent to the wrong location mattered. But the family of the victim will feel better knowing that the town saved money by getting rid of its dispatch center. After you finish your report on the break-in and murder, you call your dispatch center and say, “hey, what happened? How could you have sent me to the wrong house?” The dispatcher replies, “I don’t work for you and hangs up”.

Think the above is far fetched? I assure you it is not. With the exception of the type of call and someone being murdered (thrown in to get your attention and make a point), these things have happened. Directions are not gathered, policies are not followed, mistakes are made, and people are told time and time again that “they don’t work for you.” Sounds like a great idea to move our service to this type of agency doesn’t it?

Way to go to the town manager and councilors that voted for this! You have, without a doubt in my mind, made a decision that will affect someone in a negative and very harmful way. It may not happen today and it may not happen tomorrow, but we will not forget who is to blame when it does happen! Shame on Chief Shepard and Chief Lefebvre for supporting such a decision. You have sold out your departments, your staff, and your trust of the public to the lowest bidder.

Timothy W. Hall

Former Gorham Dispatcher

Raymond

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