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closeSumner to stop BL dispatch service
Sumner city officials give Bonney Lake 30-day notice before ending an extension agreement for 911 services
Roxanne Cooke
The city of Sumner will stop providing dispatch services to Bonney Lake by March 28, three months sooner than expected.
City officials mailed a letter to Bonney Lake leaders last Wednesday to give 30 days of notice, said Sumner Communications Director Carmen Palmer. The contract for dispatch services, originally signed in 2003, expired last fall but was informally renewed until June 30.
Sumner officials chose to terminate the agreement early because the dispatch center has dropped from 10 to six communications officers in the past few months, said Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow. With staff reduced, overtime is an issue and providing adequate 911 services to both Sumner and Bonney Lake has become more challenging.
“If we can’t meet your needs, you ought to be where your needs are being met,” Enslow said of Bonney Lake. “Let’s just end it now.”
In response, Bonney Lake Mayor Neil Johnson said he’s glad that Sumner informed officials that its dispatch center could no longer provide the level of service that Bonney Lake needs.
“It’s a business decision that they have to make,” Johnson said.
However, the 30 days of notice is not enough, he said. Instead, 90 days should have been provided, based on the contract extension agreement.
Bonney Lake has been working to have Puyallup’s dispatch center provide emergency services, but was doing so with the June 30 deadline in mind, Johnson said. Puyallup has reassured Bonney Lake officials that the switch can be done in two weeks, but Johnson still thinks more time should have been given to negotiate a proper contract with Puyallup.
“Thirty days is in my mind not enough time,” he said. “We have a responsibility to the citizens of Bonney Lake.”
Enslow said the agreement to continue 911 services for Bonney Lake through June was informal, and there were no terms regarding the termination of the extension.
In 2003, Sumner successfully set up its dispatch center in only three weeks to serve Bonney Lake, he said. And with the contract, Sumner pays roughly $600,000, while Bonney Lake pays approximately $304,000.
“We gave them a screaming deal,” Enslow said. “In my mind, that was a very good deal.”
Bonney Lake Police Chief Mike Mitchell said the 30-day notice has added extra burden and stress, “but it’s not a bad thing.”
“We’re just looking forward to making the change that had to be done,” Mitchell said. “This is just a small bump in the road that won’t affect that relationship.”
Mitchell said the police department has back-up plans if Puyallup doesn’t come through for 911 services, including help from Buckley’s police department, or firing up the city’s former dispatch center and utilizing city staff and police officers that have experience in dispatching.