To the Editor,
With all the talk of the possibility of dispatch being changed and outsourced in our town, the men and women of the Manchester Police Association/Teamsters Local 42, the union that represents the community’s 12 full time police officers, would like to give our opinion.
Nobody has ever seemed to ask us what we thought, considering we are major stakeholders and users of the dispatch center. We have a close working relationship with the members of the public safety dispatch and feel that the Town of Manchester is best suited keeping dispatch in the Town of Manchester. It’s important to have members of dispatch that have local knowledge and who have dedicated themselves to the Town of Manchester. When looking at outsourcing dispatch to North Shore Regional the citizens of Manchester must remember this; if it doesn’t work out, we can never get the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) back. The men and women that answer your calls for assistance are invested in the Town of Manchester. They should continue to provide you with the best service available in which you are accustomed to.
The pitch to outsource dispatch is heavy on what they will provide the Town of Manchester, seemingly for “free”, be it computers, software, and service for a fixed amount of time. What happens after the “free” service has expired, what is the cost to the citizens of Manchester? This question cannot currently be answered. Are you willing to offer them a blank check in the future for dispatch services? We, the members of the Manchester Police Association/Teamsters Local 42, urge the citizens of Manchester to vote NO on question 1 during town elections on May 17, and keep dispatch here in Manchester.
Respectfully,
The members of the Manchester Police Association/Teamsters Local 42
