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Milford-area communications center presses CAD upgrade, seeks federal grant; expansion raises staffing and radio concerns
Summary
The Milford Area Communications Center (MAC Base) reported progress on a proposed computer-aided dispatch (CAD) upgrade and a congressionally directed spending grant application, while officials outlined technical, staffing and radio-frequency issues that would need resolving if additional towns join a proposed dispatch consortium.
The director of the Milford Area Communications Center said the agency has submitted a congressionally directed spending (CDS) grant application to support a planned CAD upgrade and multi-jurisdictional dispatch consortium, and that site visits to agencies using the proposed software were positive.
The director said the CDS grant “has been submitted” and that the application has been entered on an agency spreadsheet used by reviewers. He also described a recent trip to Brunswick, Maine, where MAC staff and a captain reviewed a live ProSuite installation and saw how other multi-agency dispatch centers use the system.
Why it matters: the CAD upgrade and consortium would replace the aging IMC system and could change how towns share dispatch services, capital costs and staffing. Board members were told several operational and legal issues must be resolved before other towns can join, including radio-channel ownership and the intermunicipal agreement (IMA) that will govern capital expenditures.
Board discussion centered on three areas: grant status and timing; operational fit and deployment risks; and governance and cost-sharing. On the grant, the director cautioned that some federal grants have recently been canceled and said the agency is prepared to re-submit or push the award to 2026 if necessary. “If it doesn't go through this year, we just do it next year,” the director said.
On deployment, the director and captain described the Brunswick visit as largely positive. The director said Brunswick staff “were very gracious” and that their experience helped MAC staff understand the build and training requirements. MAC staff noted the system’s mobile/tablet interfaces differ from workstation use and that some cruiser functionality—such as uploading photos—may remain restricted by security settings or local policy.
On expansion, the director reported exploratory meetings with several agencies that have inquired about joining MAC Base, naming New Ipswich Fire and Police, Greenville Fire, Peterborough Fire and Sohegan Valley Ambulance Service. He said the fire dispatch channels in some areas are not owned by MAC Base, and any agency seeking to move dispatch would need to coordinate with the agencies holding those frequencies or develop alternate radio arrangements.
The director flagged operational trade-offs from expanding the service area. He said growing the footprint “is quite a large geographical increase” and recommended the board consider staffing changes—specifically having two people on duty 24/7—if MAC Base extends coverage to additional jurisdictions.
Board members also discussed the IMA, which will determine capital-expenditure responsibilities for hardware such as consoles, radios and furniture. The director said he is organizing a joint work session between the MAC Board of Governors and the respective boards of selectmen to begin negotiating the next IMA well before the current one expires.
No formal board vote on the CAD project or membership expansion occurred at the meeting. The board noted the grant remains under review by federal reviewers and that additional technical and governance work is required if any agency seeks to join MAC Base.
Taper: the director and staff will continue grant tracking, follow up on technical questions raised during the Brunswick visit, and pursue the planned joint work session to begin IMA discussions.
