The City of Bedford announced plans to withdraw from the Southeast Emergency Communications (SECC) dispatch center Monday.
All 911 calls in Bedford, Bedford Heights, Maple Heights, and Garfield Heights currently go to the consolidated dispatch center.
Bedford's City Manager, Mike Mallis, cited "financial and operational reasons," but declined an on-camera interview for further explanation.
Lifetime Bedford resident, Ralph King, told News 5 he couldn't be happier about the city's move to withdraw from regional dispatch.
"It's a continued part of the conversation when you talk to friends or neighbors. You bring up the dispatch center? Oh, I don't even bother calling sometimes," King said.
Reported issues date back to 2015 when the center opened.
The Bedford Police Union filed an official grievance in September of 2015, citing problems like missed radio traffic, delays, and dangerous or missed information.
Stating "The dispatch center has failed to provide an acceptable level of service..." and "The lives of our officers are too valuable to risk for the possibility of saving a few dollars."
Mallis said most of those concerns have since been addressed.
In December of 2016 the Chief of Police in Garfield Heights, Robert Byrne, addressed new concerns after a 911 call about a drunk driver was never relayed to police.
"It's probably going through some growing pains. You took four cities and put them together, you now have dispatchers that once worked strictly for Garfield Heights, now they're working for three other cities," Byrne said.
The SECC's manager, Greg Duber, told News 5 they dealt with that internally.
Bedford's city manager told News 5 the city's decision to withdraw from the center comes after a 3.5 year commitment and an "exhaustive analysis."
"We thank the administrator and other three communities for their partnership, wish them continued success and hope to work together in future endeavors," Mallis said in a statement.
