Parma, Parma Heights, Brooklyn announce partnership

PARMA, Ohio - The cities of Parma, Parma Heights and Brooklyn have agreed to partner to form a consolidated safety forces dispatch center.

The facility will be located in Parma, and cost sharing will be based on the populations of each city and the individual 9-1-1 call activity.  Cuyahoga County is offering grants to projects that involve three or more communities; this project team will try to secure such a grant.

There are many benefits to consolidation, the most obvious being improved service to the residents and more efficient handling of emergency dispatch and response.  Currently Brooklyn and Parma Heights do not offer Emergency Medical Dispatch - EMD - which is a program in which a dispatcher can talk a caller through some immediate assistance to a person while awaiting an ambulance.  Parma dispatchers are familiar with EMD, and now the residents of Brooklyn and Parma Heights will also have access.

There are already instances of partnership between these cities. For instance, Parma has agreements in place to lend assistance in accident investigation, major crimes and to loan out auxiliary police.  Additionally, there are fire department mutual aid agreements in place. This consolidated dispatch center is yet another way to regionalize some services.

The new facility has already been externally renovated to meet high survivability standards.  It is intended to be a mission critical facility with enhanced security to maintain operations under the most challenging of circumstances. Still to be completed are interior renovations, which will feature the newest 9-1-1 technology and equipment.

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