FARMINGTON – County commissioners voted Tuesday to join with other entities to pursue grants to upgrade the county emergency dispatching computer software and records-management system.

Stephan Bunker, a resident of Farmington and operations manager for the Maine Emergency Services Communications Bureau, said that the software and record-keeping program used at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Communications Center is outdated and should be upgraded.

The services that dispatchers provide are excellent, he said, and compare favorably to those in other dispatch centers he has visited. But, Bunker said, the software and records-management system is not on the cutting edge of computer technology.

There are programs available that are more advanced and would provide better services including record keeping to the agencies the county works with, he said.

He encouraged emergency providers to take some time looking over computer programs to make sure the program chosen would meet their needs and be compatible to other systems already in place.

“This isn’t an inexpensive consideration,” Bunker said, estimating the cost to be in the six-figure range.

Bunker also asked that commissioners think about including money for the updated equipment in a bond now that the county is considering a new public safety building, if it moves forward.

Farmington Police Chief Richard Caton said the current system that his department and Franklin County use is 15 to 18 years old. Fire and emergency medical service providers presented concerns years ago about the lack of information the current system provides them. The county and Farmington looked at updating the system previously, he said, but the ideas for funding fell through.

There is better software out there to provide more information for public safety and criminal justice, Caton said.

The price is “astronomical,” he said, but they could check into competitive grants through the federal Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act available this year and in 2010 and 2011.

Farmington Fire Rescue Chief Terry Bell said the system the county uses does not do much to help fire departments. The dispatchers themselves do an excellent job and have forever, he said.

Franklin County Firemen’s Association recently voted to pursue a regional county Fire Act grant to upgrade the county system, if it fits the criteria specified under the grant guidelines, Bell said.

Some grants require 10 percent or other matching funds while others don’t.

If they don’t do something, Bell said, they may lose dispatch and they don’t want that to happen.

Jay Police Chief Larry White Sr. said his department received a federal Homeland Security grant in the past to upgrade its software program. He asked that whatever software program chosen be compatible the IMC system.

Jay, Rangeley, Carrabassett Valley and the University of Maine at Farmington public safety providers invested in the Information Management Corp. software, White said. Androscoggin County and part of York County, among other places, also use the program.

The program allows officers to search records including license, vehicle registration and criminal, in other departments using the system through their laptops in cruisers.