Gogebic County's 911 calls will be answered in Iron Mountain starting Oct. 1 after the Dickinson County Board approved a dispatch takeover Monday, Sept. 14.

The board voted to designate the Dickinson County E911 Center as the primary Public Safety Answering Point, or PSAP, for Gogebic County. The move shifts emergency call handling away from the Michigan State Police Negaunee Regional Dispatch Center, which handles Gogebic County's 911 calls now.

Gogebic County awarded the dispatch contract to Dickinson County earlier this year, WLUC first reported. Monday's vote was the final step.

"We were eventually awarded that proposal earlier this year and this is kind of the last step in that process to put all the things in place for the state," Dickinson County Sheriff Aaron Rochon said at the meeting. The effective date is Oct. 1.

Rochon, who also represents Dickinson County on the Upper Peninsula 911 Authority Board, has been coordinating the transition for months. He told commissioners at the board's March 9 meeting that he would be meeting with Gogebic County officials to prepare for the October launch, according to county meeting minutes. By the Aug. 10 meeting, Rochon reported that a meeting with Gogebic County "went well," according to county meeting minutes.

The board includes Chair Dan Harrington, Vice Chair Peter Swanson and Commissioners Victoria Jakel, Kevin Sullivan and Joe Stevens. Individual vote tallies from Monday's meeting were not available as of publication; meeting minutes have not yet been posted.

The consolidation follows a 911 service plan that the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners adopted by resolution on Feb. 8, 2023, according to Dickinson County board records.

No contract cost figures have been released publicly. It is also unclear what notice, if any, Gogebic County residents will receive before the changeover.

Dickinson County's dispatch center in Iron Mountain begins answering Gogebic County 911 calls Oct. 1.