South Beloit approves switch to Winnebago County dispatch to reduce transfers

The South Beloit City Council on Jan. 21 approved Resolution 6576, an intergovernmental agreement to move the city’s police and fire dispatching to Winnebago County.

Sonia Hoppe, the city administrator, briefed councilors on the change and said the primary benefit was public safety: moving dispatch to Winnebago County would reduce the need to transfer emergency calls and allow responders to receive information from a single source. “This is primarily a safety thing,” Hoppe said, adding that the change should provide “a better quality service to our residents.”

Chief James Griffin said the city and county are working through paperwork, response protocols and automatic aid setups and that the move will enable features such as a shared CAD system and in-vehicle computers for officers and firefighters. Council staff said the county was expected to approve the agreement at its Jan. 13 meeting and that the city has a soft tentative go-live date of Feb. 24; the Winnebago County Fire Department will switch on the same date.

Council discussion noted the change is intended to speed communication and response by keeping all dispatch information in one professional center rather than transferring calls between agencies. Councilors voted to approve the intergovernmental agreement.