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Avon Council OKs interlocal dispatch agreement with Farmington to bolster 9-1-1 staffing
Summary
The Avon Town Council unanimously authorized an interlocal dispatch agreement with Farmington after hearing that Avon dispatch staffing had dropped to as few as two dispatchers and that regionalization would improve emergency response resilience and officer/firefighter safety.
The Avon Town Council voted unanimously on July 31 to authorize the Town Manager to execute an interlocal dispatch agreement with the Town of Farmington, a move council members and public safety leaders said will address chronic understaffing and improve responder safety.
Former Avon Chief Paul Melanson, now Farmington’s director of public safety, told the council Avon’s dispatch operation had dropped to two dispatchers at one point and later to four, a level he described as "not manageable for a 24/7 emergency operations center." He said the town briefly used Farmington for overnight coverage and that the trial period "worked flawlessly." Chief Neil Dryfe said the proposed model puts multiple people in a dispatch center 24/7 so one dispatcher can handle a radio while another answers 9-1-1, a change he called a "huge officer safety benefit."
Town Manager Brandon Robertson and Fire Chief Bruce Appell also supported the agreement, citing improved continuity, recruitment and retention, and faster resource deployment on active scenes. Council members discussed cost implications, noting operating Avon’s own fully staffed dispatch center would be roughly a $450,000 swing compared with consolidation. The council also discussed grant funding: an initial $20,000 consultant grant applied for by Avon and a $280,000 transition grant that would go to Farmington to transfer consoles and build an additional console for the joint center.
Council members asked about governance and day-to-day issue resolution; Melanson said police and fire chiefs would meet quarterly, supervisors would handle routine operational issues, and unresolved disputes would escalate to town managers, with arbitration available as a final step. Chairman Polhamus said the move frees resources for other police department needs and expressed the council’s support. The motion passed with Mmes. Ausiello, Barthel, Bratton and Messrs. Polhamus and Weber voting in favor.
