Muskego makes a 911 call of its own in dispatch fight

Tired of 18 months of doors being slammed in its face, the Muskego Common Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance requiring all 911 emergency cellphone calls originating in Muskego to go to the Muskego dispatch center.

Currently, landline 911 calls go to local dispatchers, but cellphone 911 calls are answered by dispatchers at the Waukesha County Communications Center, which transfers them to Muskego. The city wants to answer all locally originated 911 to speed up response time that can be critical in medical situations.

However, the WCC officials maintain that they do a better job and refuse to agree to the switchover.

The city appealed to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission that said the two dispatch centers should work it out. But WCC has been unwilling to meet with Muskego, said Muskego Police Chief Paul Geiszler.

So, Muskego simply passed an ordinance ordering the switchover. Companies that have cellphone towers in Muskego will be notified. Geiszler said the company officials he has already contacted say they are perfectly happy to switch, if they are ordered to do so.