Despite emotional objections and public safety concerns from Cape Elizabeth residents, the Town Council Monday night voted to consolidate the town’s dispatch with that of Portland and South Portland.

The decision was part of the council’s 4-2 approval of the $8.53 million municipal budget for 2009-2010. It leaves the town’s four full-time dispatchers jobless and is expected to save the town $127,000.

The budget is 3 percent lower than last year’s. The dispatch savings amount to almost half of Town Manager Michael McGovern’s $270,000 in cuts.

The vote came after a two-hour public hearing where a majority of residents in attendance made a last-ditch effort to save the dispatchers’ jobs. They said cutting the service diminishes public safety because the local dispatchers know the town better than a dispatcher from Portland or South Portland.

“I think it would be a tragedy to this community to lose it,” said Boyce Sanborn. “I think just to eliminate it is too much, too soon, and is detrimental to this community.”

Many also questioned why a majority of the councilors are now voting to cut the service after a majority of them in January 2008 pledged to keep dispatch through July 1, 2011.

“There needs to be more planning on the part of the town before you eliminate the dispatch center,” said Helen Mainville. “What harm is there in waiting until July 2011 and using the time from now until then to come up with a solid plan that can be fully explained to the people and be seamless in its execution?”

McGovern said consolidating dispatch was the correct move as the town faced a $500,000 budget shortfall due to plummeting property values and a decrease in excise tax revenues.

He affirmed that the council in 2008 committed to not cutting dispatch until 2011, but that was before the national, state and local economies began to decline.

“There have been a lot of changes in the national economy, and there’s a lot that’s changed locally,” McGovern said. “Cape Elizabeth is not immune to these circumstances.”

He also said that safety was a concern of town officials, but the residents would not lose services through this plan.

“Our emergency 911 calls have been answered for more than a year by the city of Portland,” McGovern said.

Earlier this month Fire Chief Peter Gleeson and Police Capt. Neil Williams came out in support of consolidation. Both said consolidation offers the town technological advantages, such as computer-aided dispatching. The consolidation also enables Cape to tap into a global positioning system.

Councilor Penelope Jordan and council Chairman James Rowe voted against the budget, saying they were not comfortable with cutting dispatch. Councilor Paul McKenney was absent.

Jordan said she could not vote to cut dispatch because she felt the town would be losing a valuable service.

Rowe said that although he is a fiscal conservative and he understood the potential savings, he had made a pledge to the dispatchers and he couldn’t go back on his word.

“My integrity is not for sale, even for $127,000,” Rowe said.

Councilor David Backer said he did pledge in 2008 not to cut the dispatch, but he also understands that the town is facing a budget crisis with an uncertain future as the economy slips.

“As we reach for further savings, it becomes more painful,” Backer said.

The town is working with the four dispatchers to find them jobs, McGovern said. Currently Scarborough has an opening and Portland/South Portland has two openings.

Cape municipal workers also have displacement rights, meaning employees who have lost their jobs because of cutbacks can bump other municipal workers from their jobs if they have seniority and are qualified for that position, McGovern said.

The town is also creating a clerical position at the Police Department during the day so residents have a person to talk to about issues that might arise, McGovern said.

Not all residents agreed that consolidating dispatch would hurt the town.

“I don’t think our town will lose its safety,” said Jerry Angier. “Global positioning systems can put an ambulance within 30 feet of where it needs to be, and we can benefit from the electronics that we have today.”

The Town Council also voted unanimously to take $163,000 from the school department’s contingency fund and $200,000 from the town’s undesignated surplus to help the school department make up for a $504,000 cut the state recently made in Cape’s general purpose aid.

The taxpayers are left with making up the remaining $161,000.

The Town Council on April 30 will vote on sending the $20 million proposed school budget to the public.

If the council votes to send the revised budget to the public, taxpayers would see an increase in property taxes from $17.44 to $17.55 per $1,000 of property valuation, a 0.6 percent increase.

Residents will vote on the school budget on May 12.

(Man at podium – Capebudget1.jpg:) Cape Elizabeth resident Boyce Sanborn pleads with the town to retain the four full-time dispatchers at Monday nightre to urge Cape leaders not to cut dispatch. Susan McGinn addresses the Cape Elizabeth Town Council before a packed public hearing on the municipal budget Monday night. Many residents urged the council to reject a proposal to discontinue local dispatch service, but the budget including the proposal passed.