Three Kennebec County senators are calling for an investigation of state-operated dispatch centers in Kennebec, Penobscot and Cumberland counties, saying they may be endangering public safety.

A letter from Sens. Elizabeth Mitchell, Lisa Marrache and Earle McCormick requests the Office of Program Evaluation & Government Accountability and the Government Oversight Committee conduct a “program evaluation” after seeing complaints about safety filed by the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.

“Lisa (Marrache) and I were very much involved with this last session when there were issues of cost between our communities when Waterville wanted to withdraw and move over to Somerset (Communications Center),” Mitchell, D-Vassalboro, Senate president, said Wednesday evening.

But the “final straw” to call for the investigation, Mitchell said, were complaints that included reported lapses in communication between law enforcement and the regional center.
“Anyone, I think, would be concerned about (the complaints),” she said. “We are not comfortable without a deeper investigation by an independent office.”

The Office of Program Evaluation & Government Accountability is a nonpartisan, independent agency employed by the Legislature to audit state government operations and programs, including for compliance with laws and regulations.

The Government Oversight Committee, led by Sen. Deborah Simpson, D-Auburn, and Rep. Dawn Hill, D-York, guides the office by creating a workplan based on information OPEGA obtains; OPEGA then conducts their own investigation and presents the findings back to the Government Oversight Committee.

Among other requests, the letter asks for an in-depth evaluation of the cost structures for the Public Safety Answering Points — PSAP — and dispatch; the coverage received by rural counties, including Kennebec; and the connection of communication between the dispatch centers and responding law enforcement.

The trio of senators cited an article in the Kennebec Journal that detailed complaints made by the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office about the quality of service from the Central Maine Regional Communications Center.

“E-911 calls to the CMMC were apparently not sent to a dispatch center,” the letter states. “The first call was for an inebriated person on the side of the road. They did not respond. One hour later, a second call came in; the person had been hit and killed.”

It also referred to separate incidents in Cumberland and Penobscot counties, but those incidents were not elaborated upon.
“These lapses in public safety are simply unacceptable and demand an immediate evaluation,” the letter said.

Meghan V. Malloy — 623-3811, ext. 431
mmalloy@centralmaine.com