Residents voted Wednesday night to move the town’s emergency dispatch operations to a regional center in Fairfield, approving a major shift in how police, fire and EMS calls will be handled.
At the Dec. 10 special town meeting, residents authorized allocating $615,000 to transition to the Fairfield County Regional Dispatch Center. Town officials said about $300,000 of the cost is eligible for state reimbursement, while roughly $165,000 would come from savings in the current budget cycle.
Public safety leaders endorsed the move, saying a regional center staffed around the clock would improve response times and replace aging communications equipment. Easton’s dispatch operations will eventually move to the regional center at Sacred Heart University, which already serves Westport, New Canaan and Fairfield.
A separate measure seeking to appropriate $150,000 from the undesignated fund balance for anticipated legal expenses was defeated 60-57 after residents voted to postpone the decision indefinitely.
First Selectman Daniel Lent and Selectman Kristi Sogofsky have supported the appropriation, pointing to ongoing land-use litigation requiring legal representation.
Selectman Nick D’Addario favored the postponement, arguing the Board of Selectmen needed additional time to evaluate legal options following the recent resignation of Berchem Moses as the town’s legal counsel.
Voters also approved increasing stipends for fire and EMS volunteers, revising the Board of Fire Commissioners ordinance, and accepting a $1 million state library construction grant for a planned library expansion.
A video recording of the entire meeting can be accessed on the official Facebook account for the Easton CT Board Selectmen at the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/EastonCTBOS/videos/1578362536812352.
An archived recording of the meeting will also be available on the town’s Vimeo account and Channel 79 page.
