Another dispute threatens to rip apart Stanislaus Regional 911 partnership. Sheriff wants out
Dialing 911 is a simple step for someone needing emergency help.
But the system for dispatching emergency units is not simple, and the complexities are tearing apart the 25-year-old Stanislaus Regional 911 system.
Tuesday, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors is expected to extend the Joint Powers Agreement for Stanislaus Regional 911 for another year, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025. But county Sheriff Jeff Dirkse has stated intent to leave Stanislaus Regional 911 and partner with Ceres for dispatch services by June.
Stanislaus County and Modesto are partners in the regional dispatch system, which serves law enforcement agencies and fire districts in the county. The communications center dispatches deputies to calls in the county unincorporated area and the cities that contract for sheriff services: Riverbank, Patterson, Hughson and Waterford.
The departure of the Sheriff’s Department would leave Modesto police and the fire agencies in Stanislaus Regional 911.
The dispatch system has suffered the stresses of fragmentation since its origin in 1999, whether it was personalities or Modesto’s costs of being in the JPA. The current source of division are new computer-aided dispatch systems each desired by Modesto and the Sheriff’s Department, to replace an existing system described as defunct and falling apart.
Dirkse wants a new Oracle-based platform including dispatch, records management and jail management capabilities.
In June, the four-member commission that oversees the dispatch center, made up of city and county representatives, approved the purchase of Modesto’s favored CentralSquare system. The Sheriff’s Department considers the CentralSquare system unsuitable because it would require the department to purchase separate record and jail management programs for the call center.
In the spring, when it looked like the key players in Stanislaus Regional 911 were not staying together, the Modesto Police Department secured $3.55 million in federal funds for a new 911 call center dedicated to taking calls specifically for Modesto.
In March, Police Chief Brandon Gillespie said negotiations between the county and city were improving and the Modesto 911 call center might not happen. “We seemed to be working well together,” said Supervisor Buck Condit, who serves on the dispatch center commission.
But relations apparently broke down again. In August, Dirkse sent a memo to county supervisors expressing an “expectation that (the Sheriff’s Department) will no longer be part of SR911 JPA for dispatch services.”
County leaders hope to preserve the JPA
County leadership wants the JPA to remain intact for the good of the public. “Using a centralized dispatch model, SR911 efficiently coordinates emergency responses for 24 law enforcement and fire agencies, including cities that contract for law enforcement services with the sheriff’s office,” says a county Chief Executive Office staff report for Tuesday’s meeting.
Dirkse, who is an elected sheriff, is digging in his heels. In another item on Tuesday’s board agenda, the sheriff is asking for permission to use outside legal counsel to represent him in the ongoing dispute. Dirkse argues that the county counsel’s office has an ethical conflict in representing both the sheriff and the board during the dispute.
County leaders have an obligation under state law to provide a 911 system for the public and have authority to approve or reject an agreement with Ceres.
The staff report says the Board of Supervisors needs a better understanding of Dirkse’s proposal and wants to see:
- The sheriff’s plans for dispatch operations with Ceres.
- Anticipated impacts of contracting for dispatch services with Ceres, including the effects on fire and emergency medical services calls.
- Details on start-up costs and operational expenses of that contract.
- Funding sources for the contracted services and associated costs for Riverbank, Patterson, Hughson and Waterford.
The Sheriff Department’s cost of dispatch services is $2.8 million annually through Stanislaus Regional 911. Of that amount, $341,301 of costs are attributed to Riverbank, $361,286 to Patterson, $116,483 to Waterford and $69,787 to Hughson.
Dirkse wrote in an Aug. 13 memo to county supervisors that his department researched a new computer-aided dispatch system for five years. After hundreds of hours of analysis, the Sheriff’s Office agreed to a partnership with Oracle to help the Austin-based tech company develop a new public safety suite.
The Board of Supervisors approved a master agreement in May 2023, with terms and conditions of a relationship with Oracle until May 2028. “This agreement is valued at $7.5 million but will only cost the county $1,” Dirkse wrote. “This allows our constituents and our taxpayers to receive a cutting-edge product for free.”
Some county officials say that nothing is free and want to know more about the strings attached to an agreement with Oracle. “We don’t know if there are other costs there,” Supervisor Terry Withrow said. “We want all the facts and then we can decide.”
Withrow said the state wants local jurisdictions to have consolidated 911 services. “For us to split them up does not make sense,” he said. “It’s better for the public to keep this together. It could hurt response times. We don’t have the facts from the sheriff at this point.”
Dirkse and Modesto Police Chief Brandon Gillespie did not return messages from The Modesto Bee on Monday.
Condit said the CentralSquare system has options for the records and jail management sought by the sheriff.
The sheriff’s memo in August said the decision approving CentralSquare for Stanislaus Regional 911 makes Modesto the owner of the computer-aided dispatch system, which will force partner agencies to contract separately with CentralSquare for licensing.
“The board’s approved agreement with Oracle and the SR911 agreement to move to CentralSquare are a direct juxtaposition. They cannot both occur simultaneously,” the sheriff wrote.
