Mark your calendars because dispatchers from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office will begin answering all 9-1-1 and police calls in Oxford Village in four months.

Council voted 4-1 to approve a police dispatch services contract with the sheriff’s office following a closed session discussion at its Sept. 13 meeting. Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth cast the lone dissenting vote.

The contract begins on Jan. 10, 2017 and expires on March 31, 2018. Under the agreement, the village will pay the county $38,031 for close to 15 months of service.

According to Undersheriff Mike McCabe, once the necessary paperwork is forwarded to the sheriff’s office, it’s typically “a four-to-six-week process” to get a dispatch contract approved by the county Board of Commissioners.

In return for closing the local dispatch center operated by the village police, the municipality will receive a $50,000 payment from Oakland County’s Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System (CLEMIS).

CLEMIS has been offering a $50,000 incentive to any community that eliminates its 9-1-1 center and contracts with another agency, be it county or anyone else. How this money is spent is entirely up to the municipality to decide.

It was back in June that council made the decision to begin the process of transferring police dispatch services to the county and close the local center.

The decision was purely a cost-saving measure and not a reflection on the performance of village dispatchers.

The 2016-17 budget for the local dispatch center is $338,300, of which $300,000 is paid by village taxpayers.

Village officials have been negotiating with the police union regarding severance packages for the three full-time dispatchers impacted by council’s decision. Part-time dispatchers are not covered by the union contract and will not receive any severance.

Village attorney Bob Davis is expected to present a severance proposal to council at a special 6 p.m. closed session meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

“I’m working on what I think might be an acceptable proposal,” Davis said. “If they approve it, then I’ll relay it back to the union and we’ll be done.”

All fire-related and emergency medical calls in both Oxford Township and Village have been dispatched by the county since April 2014. Township officials, who oversee the fire department, previously voted to make the switch from village to county dispatch.