Crime & Safety
City Council Considers $140K Budget Addition to Fund 24/7 Call Center
The funds would be used to purchase equipment for the center, which would open in September 2014.
The way the city responds to daytime and after hours inquiries could change next fall, if a proposed 24/7 city-run call center is implemented, reported The Gazette.
Currently, non-emergency, after hours calls are routed through an offsite answering service. The proposed center would respond to all non-emergency questions of city residents and be run by the city locally.
City Manager David Deutsch told The Gazette having a city operated call center would be advantageous.
"[The current system] works fairly well, but bringing that in-house would work better so we’re not relying on a phone service out of Indiana,” Deutsch told The Gazette.
The Bowie City Council voted Monday to approve a proposal that would add $140,842 to the current fiscal year budget to purchase call center equipment. After that initial investment, the call center would cost the city about $545,534 a year annually, according to a report issued by Bowie City Police.
Read the full story on The Gazette.
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