CALEDONIA — The Village will explore a shared 911 system, a law enforcement facility and a consolidated dispatch and records services with the Village of Mount Pleasant.

The Village Board approved exploring consolidation with other municipalities, pending final cost negotiations, Tuesday night in a 4—1 vote, with Trustee Kevin Wanggaard as the dissenting vote. Village Board President Ron Coutts, trustees Gale Morgan, Lee Wishau and Wendy McCalvy approved, while Trustees Bob Bradley and Kathy Burton were excused from the meeting.

“I’m excited about it,” said Coutts, who spearheaded the consolidation talks. “It’s good to be cautious, but I think in the long run it’ll be beneficial for the Village.”

Caledonia Police Chief Jeffrey Meier said the shared 911 system with Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant would be “state of the art” compared to all three communities’ current 911 system, which is more than 18 years old and so “obsolete” the replacement parts are no longer in production.

The shared law enforcement facility between Caledonia and Mount Pleasant would mean two individual police departments under one roof sharing joint dispatch and records services. The two villages already share a joint health department, a fire station and the Caledonia-Mount Pleasant Memorial Park, 9614 Northwestern Ave.

The consolidation talks come in the midst of state cuts to municipalities, including cuts of $121,702 from Caledonia and $70,775 from Mount Pleasant in 2010, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s July estimates.

Trustees raised concerns about possible costs.

Wishau emphasized the Board’s final decision whether or not to consolidate emergency services and facilities with Mount Pleasant would depend on cost projections and Tuesday night’s approval was not a commitment from the Village.

The next step would be to talk with Mount Pleasant and appoint a committee to negotiate costs.

Wanggaard also objected to the location of the law enforcement facility, which would be on 90th Street between highways 20 and C in Mount Pleasant.

“I’ve got a problem with the fact we don’t know the price tag,” he said in a phone interview after the meeting. “And it’s a facility being built in Mount Pleasant and not in the Village of Caledonia that we’re spending tax dollars on.”

But he added he was not against the idea of a joint dispatch.

The Village of Mount Pleasant has been looking to build a new village hall, including a new police department, and Coutts said Tuesday night’s decision gives the two villages the go-ahead to look at design and building costs.

“The time to pull the trigger is now because Mount Pleasant is building a new (police department) and ours is falling apart,” he said. “Consolidating services makes sense.”