The Value of 9-1-1 Center Consolidations

[x635 4,066]

Identifying Value in PSAP Consolidations

by Marc W. Bono, ENP, PMP

One perhaps indirect way to perceive trends in the public safety industry is to count the frequency of certain types of RFPs that cross consultants’ desks. So it is noteworthy to those of us in the consulting business that, although subjects such as NG 9-1-1 might be expected to generate the majority of requests for help, in fact, we find we are receiving even more requests to support either studying the feasibility of PSAP consolidation or for planning and implementing such consolidations. Clearly the cause for this most recent spike in consolidation planning is the pressure being placed on municipal budgets by our current economy. As state and local governments continue the struggle with shrinking revenues and expanding needs, governmental managers continually look for ways to achieve improvements in the quality of services being delivered while reducing the cost of performance

http://www.9-1-1magazine.com/content/view/365/1/

[spin_the_wheel 460]

http://www.9-1-1magazine.com/content/view/365/1/

I would first ask Mr. marc W. Bono if he ever was an emergency service dispatcher of any sort, or a 911 calltaker. It's very easy for a "consultant" to say whats best but it runs much deeper then just $ and cents.

I'm for consolidations as long as the Fire dispatchers remain fire and the PD remain PD. I also think having all the FD's being dispatched from one agency as well as the PD is a move in the right direction. BUT if there is going to be cross training it has to be a serious effort AND the people involved have to want to know the others job. Time is of the utmost importance on the fire end of it. Just like PD dispatch has its own nuances.

A few years back I think in MD a dispatcher was disciplined because she was asking to many questions to the caller that was not needed, and delayed the alarm of a working house fire. She was a PD/911 dispatcher that now was interrogating fire calls for the first time without any real training on the fire end. The center had recently consolidated all dispatch. Most fire,ems calls that are recieved are happening at the time of the call..."My house is on fire", "I think this guy just had a heart attack he just fell over" "This car just crashed into this building", the emergnecy is in its begining stage and process time is very important...while most of PD calls have happened already..."I think my house was robbed", "I just walked out and my car was gone", "Someone just ran off with my purse" the emergency has passed and the calltaker has more time to gather the info needed. Details and descriptions are more important on the PD side.

Look at all the problems NY City is having with this consolidation plan, and again this was the brainchild of someone who never sat in the dispatchers seat. Serious planning is needed if an agency is going to throw all the eggs in one basket, more then a consultant showing pie charts of how much $ we can save on office supplies and chairs. Again JMO.

Edited July 1, 2010 by spin_the_wheel

[JBE 328]

I'm going to try to hold my laughter back for this one. Spin makes some good points. All of which I would make if I wasn't living with the Charlie Foxtrot that is NYC PSAC. Kitchen and storage space!!?!?? HA!!! Advancement possibilities in a larger PSAC?? HA!!!! What works in smaller municipalities has not worked well here in NY. Since two of Spins cohorts in Elmont were my probies at one time, I'm sure he knows what the deal is in the city. I dread going to work every single day. Not only because of the logistical nightmare PSAC 1 is, with limited facilities, and poor planning, not to mention the inconveniences of redundant security systems. (Three ID swipes and a fingerprint just to put on my uniform). I know there's a large bullseye painted on the side of that building. It's not too bad with the noise levels now that EMD has moved in, I'm more concerned for when NYPD moves upstairs. I have resisted and resisted and yelled and screamed about this. Maybe when something happens, people will listen.

[helicopper 1,050]

There is likely a huge benefit to consolidation of 911 Centers (outside NYC). In Westchester County there are more than 40 primary answering points for 911 almost all are police stations. If 911 were centralized and (for arguments sake) 35 of those PSAPs staffed currently by police officers were no longer needed that could translate into 35 more cops on the street per shift.

On the law enforcement side many jobs use their supervisors as the "desk officer"/dispatcher. This consolidation would also enable many (if not all) of these supervisors to be out in the field as first-line supervisors instead of being chained to a desk.

[antiquefirelt 994]

Our state is looking at cutting the number of PSAPs drastically. One can see some pros and cons to the arguments.

In our case, we consolidated four dispatch centers into one County run Comm Center. Our PSAP is also the dispatch center, which is a requirement under the State's latest plan: no more ringing down to a separate agency. Our regional comm has been slowly working on an expensive self-healing repeater network which covers a large geographical area. If this is center is lost to consolidation the radio network stands to lose if shift frequencies is required due to expanded coverage and and frequency overlap.

One thing about a larger agency is that it generally has more opportunities for advancement. In our state with multiple small centers, the pay is low, the advancement is minimal and the turnover is high. This may be corrected in a well planned consolidation effort and hires quality management personnel. But we have certainly seen a degradation in service quality since we lost direct control of our own answering point/dispatch center.