Those who had a hand in hiring him knew that experience was vital as they tried to put past failures behind them and again tried to consolidate 911 operations for the county and city of Delaware, said Delaware city manager Tom Homan.

"When we interviewed him, he laid out a plan and he's sticking to it," Homan said. The city and county have tried to consolidate the two communication centers "for decades. ... We knew that we had to get beyond the squabbling," he said. "We knew if we got the 911 board in place and the right person to lead the effort we would be able to do this. He's going to get us there."

Delaware police chief Russ Martin said he's "not surprised with how quickly he (Greenlaw) has caught on. He has done this before and knows what we are attempting to accomplish."

"He is more than what I expected when we hired him," said Delaware County commissioner Ken O'Brien, the county's representative on the 911 board. Homan chairs the board and Martin also is a member.

Greenlaw brought with him a "standard" for doing things, O'Brien said. He knew what needed to be done to get the consolidation process completed. "He knows what works and what doesn't. He has connections. He's efficient and he identifies problems before they even happen."

If all goes as planned, the consolidation of the city and county's communications centers should be complete by March, Greenlaw said.

His goal is to get that done "without anyone realizing that we're doing it a seamless transition," he said.

He's no stranger to that process.

Most recently he oversaw the consolidation of police, sheriff, fire and EMS communications for all the municipalities in Blaine County in Idaho. Before that, he brought together the communication departments of 17 municipalities in New Jersey.

That experience allowed Greenlaw "to hit the ground running," Martin said. "His previous experience and the skill sets he brings to the position have enabled him to catch up quickly and identify the issues that need to be addressed."

That was obvious to Martin during the interview process.

"We had a very competitive pool of applicants and the fact that Bob separated himself from the pool was a testimony of what he brings to the table."

Greenlaw said he won't be satisfied with just a successful consolidation.

He has other goals for 2010, all designed to achieve professional excellence within the communications division.

The first is to go through the priority dispatching accreditation process, in which dispatchers are trained to not only assess and dispatch the calls but to help the person on the other end of the phone line begin the treatment or rescue process until paramedics, law enforcement personnel or fire fighters can get to the scene.

The second is to go through the CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) public safety communications accreditation program, a rigorous program that ensures that those who successfully complete it meet professionally recognized criteria for excellence in management and service delivery.

Greenlaw knows exactly how demanding the process is because he is one of 21 commissioners on the CALEA board.

Having someone with those connections goes beyond what the 911 board sought in a candidate, Homan said.

"This is an added bonus. It speaks to the breadth of his experience in this deal and allows him to be a tremendous resource for the board," he said.

Where some might be overwhelmed by everything he has on his plate, Greenlaw said he is having a ball and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

"This is the best thing I have ever done. I don't see it ending," he said. "The other day I got a call from my home state (New Jersey) offering me double my salary and a take-home car, to 'come back.' I told him I was happy where I am. We bought a house, we love our neighbors, the people I work with. There is no amount to make me leave here.

"It's fun, it's great fun because I've had these experiences where you are given the reins, where people say, 'You know what you are doing, so just do it.'"