FEBRUARY 6, 2025|
Photo – Saratoga Police Department patch – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Town Saratoga is considering having the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office take over emergency dispatch duties.
During Tuesday’s Saratoga town council meeting, Acting Police Chief Lieutenant John Moore presented a quote from the sheriff’s department to have the county run dispatch services for the town. Lieutenant Moore said he is merely exploring options to ensure continued emergency dispatch coverage in Saratoga and is not advocating for signing a contract with Sheriff Bakken.
Acting Chief Moore mentioned that Sheriff Bakken has quoted an annual fee of $125,087.62 to provide dispatching services for Saratoga. Lieutenant Moore provided a breakdown of how the sheriff’s department would use the money.
Saratoga Mayor Chuck Davis explained that he is still interested in joining a single county-wide dispatch center.
However, Mayor Davis mentioned that, due to the slow progress moving forward on the project, he is exploring a contract with the sheriff’s department in the meantime.
Mayor Davis is referring to a proposed combined emergency dispatch call center that was under consideration early last year. The idea came when the Saratoga Police Department’s dispatch center was short staffed in November of 2023. The town contracted with the sheriff’s department to have county dispatchers run the call center when needed.
Additionally, it was said at the time that Saratoga’s dispatch center required $750,000 worth of equipment upgrades. This situation led to a discussion about combining the county’s three separate dispatch centers, Saratoga, Rawlins, and the sheriff’s department, into a single building.
Last summer, Sheriff Bakken announced the formation of a Combined Dispatch Operations Collaborative Working Group between himself, Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris, and Rawlins Police Chief Mike Ward.
Representatives from the three law enforcement agencies held a single public meeting in Saratoga that June, but little new information has been released since that time.
Back at the Saratoga town council meeting this week, Mayor Davis said he isn’t prepared to make a decision on the fate of the town’s dispatch center until he learns more about the financial future of the state.
The town of Encampment already contracts with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office for dispatch services. Originally, Encampment’s emergency calls were handled by the Saratoga Police Department. However, last month, the town chose to sign a dispatch agreement with the sheriff.
