Recommendations of the City Council 911 Response Task Force

September 1, 2011

Background On June 30, 2011, the City Council established a Task Force to investigate ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Public Safety Dispatch (911) Center, reduce response times, and increase citizen awareness of appropriate calls for service and non-emergency alternatives. Members of the Task Force toured the 911 Center, and the Task Force met weekly in July and August, to hear presentations from the Information Technology Department, Police Department, Fire Department, and others.

Findings and Recommendations As a general matter, the Task Force endorses the objectives described in the attached document entitled ‘2011-2012 Public Safety Communications Improvement of Operational Efficiencies.’ While the Task Force agrees with the goals established by the Department, we do not have the luxury of time. For example, high turnover and staffing shortfalls often force the 911 Center to combine police radio frequencies. This practice can reduce responsiveness and put police officers at risk. Police officer safety is paramount. Measures should be implemented immediately to ensure that our 911 Center is as responsive as possible, as quickly as possible. More specifically, the Task Force finds that there are five clear needs that require urgent action:

1. Improve 911 Center employee retention and morale. 2. Implement a 311 system to reduce non-emergency calls to 911. 3. As an interim measure, transfer one or more vacant 911 Center positions

to the Animal Shelter, to alleviate the largest source of non-emergency calls to 911.

4. Fully integrate EMSA dispatchers with the City’s Computer Aided

Dispatch System (CADS). 5. Improve the Police Department’s capacity to respond quickly to 911 calls

by keeping up with attrition.

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I. Improve 911 Center employee retention and morale. The City of Tulsa’s Public Safety Communications employees are highly-trained, professionals. They confront demanding challenges every day, working difficult hours in stressful circumstances, thinking and acting without delay, and performing several critical tasks simultaneously. All too often, they are the voice of calm in life-and-death emergencies. The inherent stresses of the job are compounded by mandatory overtime and low pay. While measures have been taken to alleviate onerous work schedules (implementing 4 x 10-hour work weeks, for example), high turnover rates in the 911 Center still require regular mandatory overtime. Task Force members were told that 12-hour shifts are not uncommon. Low pay is likely a significant contributing factor to high turnover, and subsequently common mandatory overtime. A salary survey of 911 Call Centers found that Tulsa’s 911 Center pays less than other 911 Call Centers in the region, such as Sand Springs and Owasso. The City of Tulsa, in cooperation with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), should take all necessary measures to make Public Safety Communications employee pay competitive with comparable cities. Pay scales should be increased across the board, except for supervisors, who are paid competitively according to the survey. The City should work very hard to reach a reasonable agreement on salary as soon as possible. Without an adjustment in salaries, it will be difficult to retain employees once they are trained. A properly paid 911 staff will increase retention and save overtime costs. Paying the market wage is the foundation of returning to a very responsive 911 Center. II. Implement a 311 system to reduce non-emergency calls to 911. In addition to supporting the City of Tulsa’s Police and Fire Departments, our Public Safety Communications Professionals support the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, the Catoosa and Sperry Police Departments, and the Berryhill, Catoosa, Oak Grove, and Sperry Fire Departments. Beyond that, according to information provided by the Information Technology Department, approximately 47% of all calls received by the 911 Center are non-emergency calls. Even though emergency calls take priority, when a non-emergency call is answered, a subsequent emergency call may wait in a queue until the non-emergency call is resolved.

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It is imperative that we maintain the 911 Center’s focus on emergencies. The Task Force finds that the best way to accomplish that goal is to establish and actively promote a 311 non-emergency system, as a clear alternative to 911. Again, we do not have the luxury of time. 311 should be implemented immediately, or as quickly as possible, to lessen the burden on the 911 Center. The Task Force finds that the City of Tulsa is nearly two decades behind the curve in taking advantage of this easy-to-remember three digit number. Highly successful 311 systems have been in place in comparable cities since the mid-1990s. Cities with successful 311 systems include Albuquerque, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Little Rock, Minneapolis, and San Antonio, among many others. There is a plethora of resources available, for example through the U.S. Justice Department’s COPs program, which recognizes that a 311 alternative substantially eases the burden on 911 systems. Many of the elements of a comprehensive 311 system are already in place in the City of Tulsa. With 39 authorized positions, the newly combined ‘Office of Customer Care’ (which consists of the Mayor’s Action Center and Utility Services Call Center, under the umbrella of the Communications Department’s $2.1 million annual budget), is comparable to the staffing of 311 Centers in other cities. While a fully implemented system may require an investment in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, the primary immediate needs are administrative resolve and coordination among departments and agencies. Once a 311 system is established, the City should shift responsibility for all non-emergency calls from the 911 Center to 311. The Task Force finds that non-emergency Animal Shelter calls are particularly burdensome on the 911 Center, and should be shifted to a 311 system as soon as possible. III. As an interim measure, transfer one or more vacant 911 Center positions to

the Animal Shelter, to alleviate the largest source of non-emergency calls to 911.

Calls to the City’s Animal Shelter, diverted to the 911 Center, are the largest single source of non-emergency calls to 911. There are approximately ten vacant, funded emergency communication positions in the Information Technology Department. Some are funded by the E911 Fee Operating Fund (2420), but some are funded by the City’s General Fund (1080), and have fewer restrictions. Because of the specialized training required to fill emergency communications positions, and other factors, the City should transfer one or more of those vacant positions to the

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Animal Shelter, as an interim measure. This would allow the Animal Shelter to close gaps in coverage, especially after-hours and on weekends, thereby relieving pressure on the 911 Center. (It was also noted that on-call Animal Shelter staff are not allowed to take home a City vehicle, and may be delayed significantly by returning to the Animal Shelter to pick up a vehicle before responding to calls. If this is the case, on-call Animal Shelter staff should be considered for an exception to the City’s prohibition against take-home vehicles pursuant to the process described in Title 12, Section 303(B) of Tulsa’s Revised Ordinances.) Other interim measures should also be pursued at the Animal Shelter to alleviate call volumes to 911, such as a third phone line and Interactive Voice Response (IVR). IV. Fully integrate EMSA dispatchers with the City’s Computer Aided Dispatch

System (CADS). Dispatchers and Fire Department management described the process whereby emergency medical calls are routed through EMSA’s CAD system, evaluated, and then sent to a dispatcher, where the same information has to be re-entered into the City’s CAD system for first responders. Measures should be taken to fully integrate EMSA dispatcher with the City’s CAD system, so that first responders receive critical information as soon as possible. V. Improve the Police Department’s capacity to respond quickly to 911 calls

by keeping up with attrition. Having sufficient police personnel on duty at any given time is critical to quick emergency responses. There are currently 94 fewer sworn police personnel available for assignment than there were in 2008, when independent consultants hired by the City recommended adding 59 sworn positions. According to Police Department estimates, just to get back to that 2008 baseline level, the City would have to hire and train approximately 56 officers in each of the next two calendar years. After that, the City would need to hire and train 36 officers per year, just to keep up with attrition and maintain the baseline staffing of 780 officers available for assignment.

Acknowledgements The Task Force would like to thank Ken White and all of the City’s dedicated Public Safety Communications professionals, as well as Tom Golliver, Deputy Police Chiefs Daryl Webster and Mark McCrory, Captain Dave Roberts, Fire Chief Allen LaCroix, Deputy Fire Chief Michael Baker, Kim McCleod, Jean Letcher, and Jim Twombly.