MAUMEE, Ohio — Maumee and Oregon City Council members unanimously passed a resolution opposing the consolidation of 911 at their respective Monday's meeting.
Residents from both cities spoke out against the proposed plan.
"In February, my husband had a major heart attack in the middle of the night. And seconds is everything. If I wouldn't have lived in Maumee, if they hadn't got to us as quickly as they did my husband wouldn't be here," Maumee resident Anastasia Garrett said. "He 31 years old and has three kids. And it's not just about them getting to us quickly, I felt safe."
"This about the safety. This about the community. They're standing there because they want to a council and a mayor who will defend this community," a Oregon resident said.
Oregon City Council members also spoke out against the consolidation.
"I'm still not convinced that the dispatch time through the 911 under the new consolidation plan. The purpose of the resolution tonight was so other people realize we're oppose to this and starting looking into it more," Oregon City Council Member Tim Zale said.
Besides the Lucas County Public Safety Director, no one stood in support of the consolidation in Maumee.
The reason is that Maumee residents feel they will be forgotten in a consolidated system. Speaker after speaker stepped to the podium Monday at the meeting to explain why the consolidation is not a good idea.
"The city of Maumee response time is fantastic. I'm a firm believer if it's not broken, don't fix it," Maumee resident Chet Clocksin said.
"Keeping it here in Maumee, keeping it local, having that quick response time it's what's it all about," another Maumee resident Rob Fairchild added.
Several first responders were at the meeting and opposed the proposal. Maumee Chief of Police David Tullis was adamant about it.
"I'm a firm believer and I'm confident it will lower our public safety. Our safety for our schools, our safety for citizens, our safety for our businesses and our safety for officers," Tullis said.
Almost everyone mentioned how exceptional their current service is and they don't mind paying for that. They acknowledged call takers and said their quick response, attention to detail and familiarity of the area were all reasons they don't want to see their dispatch roll over to a consolidated program.
The County Safety Director said he truly believes the proposed consolidation will be more efficient, safer and that it will save money. In Maumee alone, the city would save more than $360,000.
With the consolidation, county leaders expect to be able to provide more training and supervision. Additionally, they would create a separate governing board.
While city leaders did make a resolution to oppose the consolidation, they are exploring what else can be done to send the strongest message since under state law, Maumee is only a small part of one of the five groups that will ultimately decide what happens next.
