Today, when you dial 911, the call goes to a local dispatch center in Howell, and emergency dispatchers familiar with Howell and Howell’s emergency services answer and direct the call. This will change if a proposal put forth by the Republicans on Howell Council is passed. The Howell emergency dispatchers will be fired, and all calls will go to a call center run by the County.
The Republicans in Howell have discussed the elimination of Howell’s local 911 before. At an earlier town council meeting, more than 100 emergency responders showed up at a Council meeting to protest the plan. Shortly afterward, Democrat Theresa Berger was elected as Mayor and Democrat John Bonevich was elected to Council. Their public opposition to transferring 911 dispatch to the County call center has helped to delay the Republican plan.
“The Howell police don’t want this, local firefighters don’t want this, and I trust their judgments when it comes to public safety”, said John Bonevich, the lone Democrat on the Howell Council. Bonevich opposes the elimination of the local Emergency Services dispatch and is running for re-election for Howell Council this November, along with Democratic newcomers Denise King and Randy Bishop.
Critics say this decision is less about public safety and more about money and partisan politics. The call center is a pet project of Shaun Golden, who is both Sheriff and head of the Republican Party in Monmouth County. Golden has raised thousands of dollars for the Howell Republicans.
Residents are concerned that if the Republicans win the council seats this November, the local 911 dispatch will be eliminated. While the Republicans claim that eliminating these Howell Emergency Services Dispatchers would save Howell money, the savings are unclear, and many feel that the risks outweigh any possible savings.
Council Candidate Randy Bishop, a former Police Commissioner of Neptune explained, “I’ve seen this happen before. When everyone’s 911 calls go to the County call center, response time gets worse. County employees who know nothing about Howell will answer your call.”
The consensus amongst Howell residents seems to be one of concern. The outcome of the switch could drastically slow the response times of police and emergency services, as Howell residents are competing with people in other towns for resources. The call center currently services 49 jurisdictions throughout Monmouth County.
Council Candidate Denise King, whose husband is a volunteer firefighter, added “If we are elected, we will have the votes we need on Council to keep 911 dispatching local. Our safety is too important to be outsourced to the county.”