On a 5-1 vote last Monday night, and after discussion at two prior meetings, the Miami Town Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with Gila County for law enforcement dispatch services. That agreement, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2022 with an initial run of two years, will contract those services to the county.

First brought before council in October, it was presented as a way to reduce expenditures, while considering operational efficiency and police officer safety, as dwindling Covid-related funds and new state tax laws loom  over the Town’s budget. The agreement will eliminate the town’s two dispatcher positions in January, but current dispatchers were expected to be able to apply for the same position with Gila County, which has seven openings for the position. Town Manager Micah Gaudet said some staff would be retained for administrative functions.

With its budgetary effects and projected benefits of running dispatch through the county, Vice Mayor Dan Moat said the agreement was “an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”

The City of Globe made the same transition, contracting its police dispatch services to the county, and Globe Police Chief Dale Walters was at Monday’s meeting to address the council. “To survive as a police entity, you have to make some changes. This will provide a much safer environment for officers and the community,” he said.