Everman highlights regional dispatch center as cost‑saving model
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Summary
City Manager Craig Spencer said Everman now administers Tarrant County Regional Communications, a regional dispatch center that handled more than 94,000 calls in 2023 and uses shared staffing and advisory boards to reduce duplicated costs across participating cities.
City Manager Craig Spencer told a standing‑room town hall that the City of Everman now administers Tarrant County Regional Communications, a regionalized dispatch operation that went live in 2023 and handled more than 94,000 calls last year. He said Everman’s model pools infrastructure and personnel across neighboring jurisdictions and uses advisory boards of participating fire and police chiefs to develop shared policies.
Spencer said regional dispatch reduced duplicated costs by consolidating functions: instead of each small city funding separate centers with individual equipment and staff, participating cities share employees, technology and overhead. He described governance arrangements that give every partner an equal voice through a fire chief advisory board and a police chief advisory board; the communications director reports to those boards.
Spencer provided operational details: the center has a $1.4 million operating budget and 14 full‑time employees, with additional part‑time (PRN) staff. He said the center currently dispatches for nine fire departments, supports 15 mutual‑aid departments and three police departments, and covers 212 square miles of Tarrant County with some reach into Johnson, Parker and Wise counties.
Why it matters: Spencer framed the regional approach as a way for small cities to maintain or improve emergency communications while avoiding the full cost of stand‑alone centers. He said the city is being asked to consult with other jurisdictions about replicating the model.
Spencer attributed the savings and operational success to shared procurement and centralized oversight, and said the model allowed Everman to improve services without substantially increasing the city’s tax burden. He invited residents to follow the Tarrant County Regional Communications page for more information and to raise questions with staff at the event.
Next steps: Spencer said the city will continue to operate the center in partnership with neighboring jurisdictions and invited further public questions at departmental tables after the presentation.
