Santa Barbara County Supervisors are set to look at a plan to change how a lot of 911 calls in the county are handled.
The county’s Fire District is developing a proposal to consolidate fire, and ambulance service dispatching countywide. A proposed new $11 million regional facility would handle 911 calls for the county fire department, as well as for all of the county’s municipal fire departments, and fire protection districts.
The agencies would share the estimated $4.9 million operational cost of the center, with some of the money also coming from revenue from ambulance dispatch services.
If the county pursues the plan, it would separate the county fire department, and ambulance dispatch services from Sheriff’s Office dispatch services. The proposal also calls for adding a backup dispatch center at the Santa Maria Police Department headquarters.
County Supervisors will look at the effort when they meet Tuesday.
