During a Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, a decision was made to create a task force and delay a vote on merging their 911 call center with the City of Punta Gorda call center.
Several Punta Gorda residents spoke out against the proposed merger of Charlotte County's 911 call dispatch center with the city's, citing concerns over potential delays in emergency response times.
"If the commissioners vote for this option, the city can technically keep its 911 call center, but all emergency calls will first go to the county and then be transferred to the city. This extra step will create critical delays and put lives at risk," said one concerned resident dring the meeting.
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell supports the merger, stating it will allow emergency calls to go directly to his dispatch center. However, Punta Gorda first responders disagree.
Punta Gorda Fire Department Chief Holden Gibbs said, "The county has a little bit longer procedure, so our protocols are really what's different, and they ask more detailed questions before they actually get those units responding."
The city voted last week against the 911 merger, with residents' main concern being response time.
"We have an elderly population. We need that speed because time is of the essence," another concerned resident said.
"We stressed to our firefighters and our police officers that seconds matter, and every second counts. Right now, we're about 40 seconds quicker at getting our guys out the door than the county is, so those 40 seconds could mean the difference between life and death," the resident added.
Commissioners have decided to create a task force to discuss the merger further in-depth, and then come back next month to report the findings.
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