CCSO Set to Take on Dispatching for Saratoga

JUNE 5, 2025 |

Photo – Example of a dispatch desk – Bigfoot99 file photo

The Carbon County Sheriff’s department is ready to begin handling emergency dispatching services for Saratoga on July 1st.

In Carbon County, police and fire calls are managed by three separate emergency dispatch centers: the Sheriff’s Office, the Saratoga Police Department, and the Rawlins Police Department, which handles all emergency 911 calls. Transferring emergency calls between the three agencies has resulted in dropped calls and callers having to repeat information. Additionally, the three centers compete for a limited pool of trained dispatchers. For those reasons, along with funding shortages, the county has been exploring the possibility of consolidating all dispatch services under the Sheriff’s Office.

Last summer, Sheriff Alex Bakken, Rawlins Police Chief Mike Ward, and then-Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris announced the formation of the Combined Dispatch Operations Collaborative Working Group. The three law enforcement heads pledged to explore ways to enhance emergency call handling in Carbon County, including establishing a unified dispatch center.

However, Rawlins Police Chief Mike Ward expressed reluctance to join a county-wide dispatch center, citing his department’s record of success as an independent agency. The Rawlins Police Department Dispatch Center has received numerous individual and team awards by the International Association of Public-Safety Communication Officials. In the meantime, the town of Saratoga continued talks to transfer all dispatching services over to the county.

After months of work, Sheriff Alex Bakken presented a complete memorandum of understanding for a combined dispatch center during the May 20th Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting. Sheriff Bakken explained that the memorandum of understanding, or MOU, requires the town of Saratoga to pay just over $125,000 annually, with a built-in increase to keep pace with inflation.

Additionally, the town of Saratoga has agreed to transfer $14,000 of annual federal emergency 911 funding to the Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff Bakken said the contract would be ready to sign once attorneys for the county and Saratoga finished reviewing the agreement. The Board of County Commissioners voted to allow the sheriff to sign the MOU, pending approval by County Attorney Ashley Davis.

Moving on to the June 3rd Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Sheriff Alex Bakken said thanks to the efforts of County IT Director Matt Webster, his department is ready to take over emergency dispatching services for Saratoga on July 1st. The sheriff also announced the creation of a combined dispatch advisory group to oversee the upcoming dispatch center.

Mayor Chuck Davis announced on June 3rd that he had received the finalized agreement for the combined dispatch center following a legal review. However, the MOU only covered one year’s worth of collaboration, not the originally expected five. Mayor Davis said Saratoga Attorney Kylie Waldrip explained that extending the timeline would be a simple change.

Mayor Davis invited Sheriff Bakken to speak about the contract. The sheriff clarified that County Attorney Ashley Davis was in the process of amending the memorandum of understanding to include the town’s requested five-year term.

Sheriff Bakken continued, noting that an April combined dispatch trial run uncovered minor issues that could be easily resolved. The sheriff confirmed his department will be ready to take over Saratoga’s dispatch services by July 1st.

Mayor Chuck Davis expressed his approval of the contract. The Saratoga Town Council unanimously voted to sign the memorandum of understanding to move all police and fire department dispatch services to the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office on July 1st.