Cuyahoga’s 911 dispute involves separate powers over dispatch, equipment and networks

Kaitlin Durbin

Posted Tuesday, October 27, 2026 5:25 pm

Michael Johnson, Cleveland.com Express Desk (via Cleveland.com)

$Chagrin Valley Dispatch is opening a new regional dispatch center in December to serve 36 member communities, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department and Cleveland MetroParks, but it wants to start answering 911 calls too. It recently purchased a new call-handling system for $5 million, but county officials worry it will fracture emergency services and cost communities money for a service the county is already providing for free.$

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Choosing who answers a community’s 911 calls doesn’t settle who reviews its equipment or manages the network delivering those calls. Ohio law and local governing documents divide those jobs among municipalities, dispatch operators, a county committee and the state.

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