Fayetteville, Cumberland County officials to discuss combining 911 call centers

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Fayetteville officials are gearing up to discuss the future of their 911 center with Cumberland County on Thursday. The city could consolidate its call center with the county's or continue plans to build a new 911 center for Fayetteville.

Fayetteville's 911 call center is at city hall on the second floor. The city has been trying to rebuild and modernize it elsewhere for more than a decade, department head Lisa Reid said. But that plan might be canned if the city decides to merge its call center with Cumberland County's emergency call center over on Executive Place.

Loren Bymer, the city's director of marketing and communications, said consolidating the centers would mean streamlining operations and costs.

"There's conversation on both sides of whether we consolidate or we don't consolidate. Some of those are streamlining costs to ensure that we maximize the tax dollar efficiency between the city and the county," Bymer said.

However, it raises questions about whether people facing emergencies could be affected.

"There is always a concern of who has ultimate control of the 911 center -- whether it is the city or the county," Bymer said, "and also whether we will be able to maintain the effective quality that we are providing right now."

Reid said efforts to rebuild it slowed during the past decade, citing changes in city leadership. Then, last month, city officials decided to move $1.8 million from a public safety bond that could have been spent on rebuilding Fayetteville's 911 call center to buying the building that houses the Cross Creek District Police Station on Raeford Road.

The city said it still has about $58 million available in the public safety bond left if it decides to stick with the 911 call center rebuild.

Fayetteville and Cumberland County's public meeting about whether or not to consolidate call centers will happen Thursday at Fayetteville's city hall.