The Hermosa Beach City Council Tuesday night voted to transfer its emergency dispatch services from the city of El Segundo to the South Bay Regional Public Communications Authority in the city of Hawthorne for the next five years.

At its April 8 meeting, the council agreed to allow RCC to finalize its proposal and also offered El Segundo a chance to provide its own competing estimates. With RCC, the city will save an estimated $726,000 compared to El Segundo with approximately $508,000 in savings.

“The staff reviewed the present operations to the RCC and have determined that either operation will provide a similar service for our residents,” said City Manager Steve Burrell. “This has been a difficult decision for all who have been involved. The service and relationship that we have with El Segundo has been outstanding. However, it appears that the best alternative for the city at this time is to enter into the contract with RCC.”

Representatives of RCC initially approached Hermosa Beach city officials in January expressing a desire for the city to once again become a member of the agency. RCC provided its services to Hermosa Beach from 1977 to 1987. The city eventually left the authority after it experienced rising costs in its operation and a lack in technological upgrades resulting in a decrease in services.

“The RCC was problematic about six or seven years ago with rising costs and a fall in the service level, and so we looked at the services and asked ourselves what’s wrong,” said Ralph Mailloux, RCC’s executive director. “What you’re getting now is more bang for your buck.”

Hermosa Beach devised its own dispatch center and used it until August of 2000 when El Segundo began providing the city with services.

Since then, members of RCC improved its infrastructure by spending an estimated $8.5 million to build a state-of-the-art facility. The authority currently provides services to Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne and Gardena.

RCC has agreed to provide its services to Hermosa Beach for $500,000 per year over a five-year period. The second through the fifth year will be adjusted based on the consumer price index. The contract will become effective in less than two months and will expire in July of 2008.

“El Segundo has always provided us with exemplary service and this has been a difficult decision because they have done an excellent job,” said Councilman J.R. Reviczky.