The Spanish Fort Police Department will soon take its first steps toward total independence with the acquisition of equipment necessary to establish on-site dispatch services.

Since its inception 12 years ago, the local department has contracted with the Daphne Police Department for dispatch services, but $100,000 earmarked in the recently approved fiscal 2010 budget will provide for the purchase and implementation of equipment to help Spanish Fort provide its own round-the-clock services.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of growth as has Daphne, and it’s gotten to the point where our call volume has increased to where we need to take this step forward,” said Spanish Fort Police Chief David Edgar.

Edgar said when the initial partnership was forged more than a decade ago, Spanish Fort had only four officers on staff but has grown to a force of 22.

In addition to the equipment purchase, Edgar said assuming dispatch responsibilities will also necessitate hiring at least three full-time dispatchers and possibly two part-time employees. Those personnel expenditures will not be required, however, until the existing contract with Daphne expires in November and will be included in the city’s 2011 budget.

The seeds for the transition were actually sewn in 2009 when Spanish Fort paid the salary for one of the dispatchers in the Daphne facility. Daphne is requesting the city pick up the tab for two additional dispatchers in 2010 to handle the increased volume.

The move is a natural one, Edgar said, but nothing is set in stone.

In discussing the matter during budgetary work sessions in October, Mayor Joe Bonner said the move is not to be seen as an indication that Daphne is asking Spanish Fort to vacate its premises. The equipment purchase is simply a safeguard to ensure the city’s department could be self-supporting sooner rather than later.

“We are also exploring an avenue where Spanish Fort could contribute the equivalent number of dispatchers at the end of three years to handle Spanish Fort volume whether it be at the Daphne facility or the Spanish Fort facility,” Bonner said.

“Daphne has not said—under any circumstances—we want you out of Daphne. All doors are open. We’re just looking at the growth, and it does make sense for us—in three years—to have our own facility,” he said.

Edgar did note that should police services relocate down the road from their current location at the Eastern Shore Centre to a proposed city complex, all of the equipment being secured at this time is being purchased with mobility in mind.

“Money won’t be thrown away because all of the equipment would relocate with us. The citizens wouldn’t notice much of a difference,” he said.