Officials in Rockford and Winnebago County say they're ready to discuss merging their emergency call centers.
The two systems were separated about a decade ago.
The Winnebago County Sheriff's Department handles emergency calls outside of Rockford, while the city's 9-1-1 center dispatches police and fire and helps callers inside city limits. They currently serve as backup centers to each other.
A resolution was introduced last week that would direct fire and police officials to explore a merger and report back to the City Council at the end of May. Both municipalities want to reduce costs because of budget deficits, and they want to improve services to residents.