It's time for EWU, Cheney to talk police dispatch

There’s a television ad these days that speaks to cellphone users who decided to take the offer of a competitor only to find when all was said and done the service was just not as good as advertised.

Those who left were offered a financial incentive, which the advertiser is willing to match should they return.

The idea reminded the Cheney Free Press editorial board of the current tug-of-war between the city of Cheney and Eastern Washington University when it comes to police dispatch services.

While it appears that the current $91,000 per year Eastern pays the Cheney PD for a wide array of services beyond the contracted monitoring of police radio activity is pretty small potatoes when one considers EWU will operate with a $272 million budget in the next year, the university seems to want to shop around for a different deal.

And there’s certainly no assurance that it will be a better deal because in reality no one seems to know exactly what Eastern wants as they look to Spokane County to provide a bid.

From the information we’ve been provided over the course of time, since the original contract expired in 2011, the contract Cheney continues to operate under on a month-to-month basis with the university is a pretty screaming good deal.

The money EWU pays Cheney equals about 16 percent of the city’s budget for the dispatch service, yet call volume has escalated over the years to where approximately 45 percent of the calls are university related. EWU police accounted for 24,511 of the 55,018 computer aided dispatch calls in 2015.

If that amount of business were to be billed on a prorated basis it would be roughly $252,270 of the city’s $560,600 communication budget for 2015.

Cheney has made offers to Eastern in an attempt to close the gap. Negotiations had been ongoing but suddenly broke off this past October without rhyme or reason according to city officials.

Reportedly the school does not want to pay more, so they continue to court Spokane County and its vast resources.

But as with the case of the competing cell service provider, will EWU get a better deal and still receive the same level of service? Because in addition to fielding tens of thousands of police calls, Cheney dispatch goes beyond and handles lockouts, security alarms, people stuck in elevators and much more.

Messages, some perhaps urgent, go directly to EWU officers on patrol thanks in part to the purchase of $100,000 in dedicated communication equipment the city provides. We’re told that might not be the case in an arrangement with Spokane County where calls could have to go to voice messaging.

With a Cheney dispatch operator just down the street in many cases, their response to EWU is not only nearly instantaneous, but very much more personal .

This is not to say that Spokane County would not be able to offer what Cheney does, but we wonder since no one seems to really know what is being presented. Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said it was EWU that approached his office.

It takes just a few seconds difference for a simple lockout to escalate into an assault on a dark street. The question then must be asked, “Would that have happened if Cheney dispatch were fielding calls?”

One of the other challenges Cheney faces in trying to seal a deal — or have EWU walk away — is that they face the need to budget either for the business, or not. That could mean the difference between hiring a new employee, having an existing one remain, or none of the above.

The irony here is that in a matter where communication is vitally important, there appears to be none taking place that is meaningful between the negotiating parties.

The two sides, with Eastern taking the lead, must get things started and need to engage in fruitful negotiations. Eastern must outline their needs and the city can then make an offer.

If the parties cannot come to an agreement, then they part ways knowing each took their best shot.