If all goes as planned the town of Scarborough could be answering the calls of Old Orchard Beach residents for emergency assistance, and dispatching Old Orchard’s police and firefighters, by this September.

The two towns have yet to work out the details of a plan that could save Old Orchard about $150,000 a year on answering the public’s calls for help and dispatching the correct emergency personnel.

Old Orchard’s dispatching equipment is old, first purchased in 1987, according to Police Chief Dana Kelley. In addition, with the state pressuring towns to consolidate at least the answering of 911 calls by July 1, and the substantial investment in equipment Old Orchard would have to make, consolidation seems like the best answer, Town Manager Jim Thomas said this week.

“We are exploring that as an option,” Thomas said Monday of consolidating emergency dispatching services with Scarborough. “Our equipment is antiquated and we are looking for a partner. We already do a lot with Scarborough.”

Thomas said the towns have had several meetings, but are still in the early stages of discussing the prospect of Scarborough taking over emergency dispatching duties for Old Orchard.

“I am optimistic that we can come to an agreement. Ron Owens (Scarborough’s Town Manager) and I have a very good working relationship. I’m hoping we’ll see some savings to taxpayers,” he added.

If Scarborough does begin to answer Old Orchard’s 911 calls, the Old Orchard dispatch center would be closed. Old Orchard employs eight full time dispatchers, and some part-time.

There are two dispatchers on each shift, except for the midnight shift. However, from Memorial Day to Labor Day there is usually a second dispatcher on the midnight shift because the number of emergency calls increases significantly in the summer.

The town spends about $450,000 a year on dispatching services and for the first few years would pay Scarborough about $300,000 a year, for a savings of about $150,000.

Old Orchard dispatchers answer approximately 20,000 calls for emergency help a year. Not all of those calls come in through 911, however. Scarborough answers slightly more than that a year, according to Owens.

Scarborough now has 10 full time dispatchers. To handle Old Orchard’s calls for emergency aid Scarborough would have to add five new dispatchers and a fourth dispatching console.

Thomas said one reason Old Orchard turned to Scarborough to discuss consolidating emergency dispatching services is that Old Orchard has been in discussions with other York County towns, such as Saco and Biddeford, for years but the talks have “gone no where.”

Old Orchard Chief Kelley believes in emergency dispatching consolidation. “It’s been done with great success in other parts of the country and I see no reason why it can’t work here,” he said this week.

Kelley also said the consolidation would hopefully improve on the service the town offers residents, at a lower cost. “We’d like to get this done as soon as possible, but realistically we are looking at the fall,” he added.

Kelley said the possibility of consolidating emergency dispatching with Scarborough is not necessarily a “better option” than working with another town, particularly one that is also in York County, but it’s “another option.”

“No decision has been made. We’re still exploring,” he said. “But we would like to consolidate with somebody sometime in the near future.”

Owens confirmed this week, “We are talking with Old Orchard about the possibility of consolidating dispatch.” In addition to Old Orchard, Scarborough is also looking at consolidating emergency dispatch services with Cape Elizabeth and South Portland.

Owens said Old Orchard is aware that Scarborough’s dispatching services might merge with those in South Portland and Cape Elizabeth, and Old Orchard would still be on board if that happens.

“I think we all understand this would be just one step toward consolidation,” Owens said of Scarborough taking over emergency dispatching services for Old Orchard this fall.

He said the fire and police chiefs in both towns have been meeting and will continue to meet to create a workable plan. Owens and Thomas will need to meet with the town attorney for both communities to create an inter-local agreement laying out each town’s responsibilities.

Owens expects the inter-local agreement to be signed sometime in June, giving the two towns the rest of the summer to figure out the logistics of a working plan.