Local Government Innovation Fund encourages similar research

As Ohio plans how to use $45 million in its Local Government Innovation Fund, the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University provides a replicable model of research that can help communities determine how to provide improved services while saving public money.

Consolidation of public safety dispatch functions could save a collective estimated $331,000 per year for the Ohio cities of Ashland and Wooster and Wayne County, according to a new study by the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

The City of Wooster, in partnership with Wayne County and the City of Ashland, engaged the Levin College's Center for Public Management to assist them in assessing the feasibility of developing a consolidated public safety dispatch center—a public entity responsible for dispatching police, emergency medical service and fire personnel to respond to calls for help.

The Levin College concluded that a consolidation of separate services into one entity serving all three entities would be legally implementable and financially viable at less than or equal to existing costs, and could provide service that is equal to or better than current service. It was further recommended that such a center would best be served by a democratic process and structure for oversight of its operations and updated communications equipment.

"The report is written to allow the involved entities to begin the development of the new model for emergency dispatching services for Wayne County and the City of Ashland," said Wooster Mayor Robert Breneman, Director of Administration Robert Fowler, Fire Chief Robert Eyler, and Police Chief Matthew Fisher in a joint statement.

They continued, "The staff of the Center for Public Management was extremely helpful in getting numerous governmental agencies together and collecting the information and data required for the completion of this comprehensive study."

The new report is one of three completed recently by Levin in response to government officials seeking ways to provide comprehensive services while saving public dollars, according to Project Manager Daila Shimek. In August of 2011, two studies—one on Ohio centers and the other on dispatch centers across the country—were released. "The case studies we've conducted could be the first of their kind in the U.S.," said Shimek. "We have been contacted by 911 officials in other states, citing the work we've done in Ohio."

All three reports, as well as executive summaries, may be found online:

• Consolidated Dispatch Center Feasibility Study (Prepared for the city of Wooster, city of Ashland, and Wayne County Ohio, October, 2011) Download PDF »
• Consolidated Dispatch Center Feasibility Study: Ohio Case Studies (Prepared for the city of Wooster, city of Ashland, and Wayne County Ohio, October, 2011) Download PDF »
• Case Studies for Consolidated Public Safety Dispatch Center Feasibility Study: The Next Steps (Prepared for the city of Parma, OH, August, 2011) Download PDF »

To contact Shimek about conducting similar research in other communities, call 216-687-9221 (d.shimek@csuohio.edu).

The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University prepares students to change America's cities and provides reliable research on vital issues facing urban America. www.urban.csuohio.edu

About Cleveland State University Founded in 1964, Cleveland State University is a public research institution that provides a dynamic setting for engaged learning. With an enrollment of more than 17,000 students, eight colleges and approximately 200 academic programs, CSU was again chosen for 2011 as one of America's Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report.