Cape May Court House, N.J. – Middle Township will partner with Cape May County for emergency dispatch services as part of a plan to realize savings and ensure sufficient staffing.

Middle authorized a shared services agreement with the county at its Oct. 18 Township Committee meeting. The process to transfer the 911 services from the Township to the county is expected to take six to eight months.

“We felt that the timing was right to make a move,” said Mayor Tim Donohue.

It’s difficult to attract qualified workers in the current labor market, and pay scales are rising, Donohue said. “We’re in competition with the county for employees.”

At the same time, the state is upgrading its emergency call service to the modernized Next Generation 9-1-1 system and the Township would have to spend $250,000 to make its equipment compatible. If Middle invested in the upgrades, the municipality would have been committed to continue with the local system.

“We look forward to joining the Cape May County Central Dispatch system,” said Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner. “We did a comprehensive analysis and this was clearly the right move for our residents, our communication operators and officers.”

Moving dispatch services for police, fire and EMS to the county will result in a net savings of $264,000 in the municipal budget. That amount is equal to about a penny in the local tax rate.

The county already is processing applications from many of the Township’s communication operators.

“We expect many of them to make the transition to Central Dispatch where they will continue to serve the community in this very important role,” Leusner said.

Cape May County launched its 911 call center in 2018 and, since that time, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Wildwood Crest and Lower Township all have transferred their dispatch services to the county.

Middle Township was confident about joining the county system because it has established a record for reliability over time, Donohue said.

“After careful consideration, we chose the best course to ensure that Middle residents continue receiving timely assistance from qualified dispatchers,” Donohue said.

In 2019, Cape May County Central Dispatch began using technology that pinpointed a 911 call made with a cell phone to within 150 feet of the caller, instead of to the nearest cell phone tower.

The accuracy mapping is considered crucial in emergencies, including those in which a caller is not able to speak into the phone. Central Dispatch also accepts emergency text messages.