LOWELL | The Town Council on Monday preliminarily approved contracting with the Lake County Sheriff's Department and county commissioners for consolidated E-911 dispatch services.
The approval was recommended by the town's police commissioners.
However, the council will consider further one provision recommended by the police commission. That provision would give all full-time Lowell dispatchers payment for unused sick, vacation and personal days if they continue to work until the transition is complete.
Clerk-Treasurer Judy Walters said employees must be with the town for 20 years to receive payment for sick days.
Police commissioners recommended the town's contract with the county be finalized "as expeditiously as possible." The commissioners also said they think there would be "significant financial benefits for the town" and increased service to the community.
A recommended timeline sets a Jan. 31 deadline for a contract regarding the cost of dispatching duties. By March 1, the proper equipment should be installed and operational and include transfer of telephone lines, video surveillance of the Lowell Police Department and a direct phone line from the lobby of the Lowell station to the Lake County dispatch center.
Around March 1, Lowell dispatchers would begin dispatching duties from the Lake County dispatch center. By April 1, some of them would transfer employment from the town to the county.
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