Fire dispatch software on hold

A cost-conscious Spokane City Council on Monday put the brakes on a $100,000 contract for computer software in the Fire Department’s emergency dispatch center.

Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin said she wants to study options to save money and asked for a week’s delay in a vote on the contract with Geac Public Safety of Tampa, Fla., for licensing and maintenance of computer-aided dispatching software.

The vote was unanimous to defer a vote on the contract sought by Fire Chief Bobby Williams.

McLaughlin said the fire and police departments both operate computer-aided dispatch systems, and she wants to know why they are not being combined to save money.

Williams told her that the Fire Department system is probably not compatible with the police dispatch system, and that it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of staff time to change the Fire Department system.

“It’s a very complicated long process that’s a very expensive process,” Williams said.

Councilman Bob Apple said other cities operate combined police and fire computer dispatch systems, so it is conceivable that Spokane could do the same thing.

The debate over spending arose after the City Council asked voters last fall for a small increase in property taxes for two years and approved an increase in the tax on city utilities to pay for escalating costs of salaries and health benefits in city government. The tax increases followed deep budget cuts for 2005, including layoffs of police and firefighters.

Scrutiny of Fire Department spending also follows a controversy involving overcharges by the private ambulance company that operates under contract with the city. The contract is managed by the Fire Department.

An audit shows that American Medical Response overbilled hundreds of patients and insurance companies over the past three years at an excess cost of $320,000. As a result, the City Council is re-examining the contract and may push to collect fines allowed under the contract.

In other business Monday, the council heard reports from neighborhood organizations in a “town hall” meeting at the East Central Community Center.

At the meeting, the council approved a resolution providing for the sale of six lots on Fifth Avenue to the north of the center for construction of a 25-unit housing complex for very low-income senior citizens. The project is being funded with a $2.1 million federal grant. The property was initially acquired through annual community development block grant funds. The city is going to sell the land to the housing complex for $2.

The council also approved a resolution recognizing the neighborhood’s land-use and economic development plan as “reflecting the neighborhood’s priorities for the future.”