By the end of the month, Cape Elizabeth’s emergency dispatch will be handled by South Portland.

The Cape Elizabeth Town Council agreed Monday to allow South Portland to handle the approximately 1,600 annual Cape Elizabeth 911 calls, at $1 per resident. The first year, said Town Manager Michael McGovern, the town will pay about $18,000. After the initial start-up costs, the annual fee will be about $11,000.

Under state mandate, towns are combining with neighboring communities to consolidate the number of 911 call centers or public safety answer points, also known as PSAPS. Statewide, the number of call centers will be reduced from 48 to somewhere between 16 and 24. After originally looking at the feasibility of joining with Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth opted to have its emergency calls taken by South Portland.

The change will occur as of Jan. 30, said Cape Elizabeth Police Chief Neil Williams.

South Portland will handle only emergency 911 calls. Cape Elizabeth is keeping its own dispatchers, who will continue to field all other calls. South Portland will answer the emergency 911 calls and then transfer most calls to Cape Elizabeth.

The new yearly costs are in addition to what Cape Elizabeth currently pays for its dispatch. This year, said McGovern, the town budgeted about $270,000 for dispatch, which includes four full-time dispatchers.

Keeping the Cape Elizabeth dispatchers, said Williams, is intended to help preserve the same feeling and quality of service residents are accustomed to.

“We want to keep the same feeling with the public as we had before,” said Williams.

In the case of extreme medical emergencies, such as a person suffering a heart attack, said Williams, a South Portland dispatcher will continue talking to the caller as Cape Elizabeth emergency personnel respond.

“When you have a serious call like that, you don’t want to have any interruptions,” said Williams.

At the meeting on Monday night, councilors voted unanimously to support the change, though councilor Anne Swift-Kayatta was displeased that Cape Elizabeth will pay more for emergency dispatch because of a state mandate.

“It’s an example of a higher government – the state – mandating something that will cost us more,” said Swift-Kayatta. She added that she does agree with the overall state goal of saving money through consolidation.

“The state’s costs will go down, but it’s an increase for the municipality,” she added.

Williams is confident that callers won’t notice any difference after the changeover this month.

“I don’t think that there’s going to be any advantages or disadvantages,” said Williams.

A letter will soon go out to all residents and businesses, said Williams, detailing the changes.