HomeMy WebLinkAboutR86-183145
RESOLUTION NO. R86-183
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PLAINVIEW, TEXAS ACCEPTING THE CONSOLiDATED DISPATCHREPORT
OF THE PLAINVIEW POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS
OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND HALE COUNTY S~RRIFF.
WHEREAS, the Plainview Police Department conducted an analysis
of Consolidated Dispatch Services and a copy of such is attached and
hereby made a permanent part of this Resolution; and
WHEREAS, the Plainview chief of Police and Hale County Sheriff
reviewed said report and came to the conclusion that it was not
practical to implement a Consolidated Dispatch at this time.
.~OW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and the City Council
of the City of Plainview, Texas that the recommendation of the
Plainview Chief of Police and Hale County Sheriff is hereby accepted.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the llth day of November, 1986.
E.V. RIDLEHUBER, Mayor
ATTEST:
O~WfN~ City Secretary
TO:
FROM:
P.E:
DATE:
Jim Jeffers, City Manager
Bill Hollars, County Judge
Roy L. Osborne, Chief of Police
Charles Tue, Sheriff
Consolidated Dispatch
10-13-86
As per the request of the Plainview City Council and the Hale County
Commissioners, a study of the feasibility of consolidating dispatch
services of the Plainview Police Department and Hale County Sheriff's
Office has been completed. This study, done by Captain Dennis Harkins
of the Police Department, concludes that while feasible, dispatch con-
solidation will be extremely costly and require the cooperation and
monetary support of agencies other than Hale County Sheriff's Office
and Plainview Police Department. In recent meetings with these other
agencies concerning the E-911 telephone system, the consensus seems to
be that they are satisfied with the present system of dispatching.
For this reason, we believe that it would be in the best interest of
the City of Plainview and Hale County to not pursue such a consolidation
at this time. We will continue to work closely together and provide
mutual support to the citizens of Plainview and Hale County in all Law
Enforcement efforts.
k__~-L/ Osborne, ~C~hief of. Pol'
s ~,, ~SherifJ
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
DATE:
Roy Lee Osborne, Chief of Police
Dennis Harkins, Captain of Services
Dispatch Consolidation Study
September 17, 1986
OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility of having the Plainview Police
Department take over dispatching for the Hale County Sheriff's Office (S.0.).
Alternatives include 24 hour dispatching and after 5PM dispatching.
GENERAL DISPATCHING DUTIES: Answering phones, directing patrol cars to
respond to calls for service, handling radio requests for information from
field units, running teletype computer, talking to walk-ins, taking simple
reports, making phone calls, dispatching fire and ambulance units, and so
forth.
PRESENT SITUATION AT P.D.: We have 4.dispatchers who work 8 hour shifts
each. One dispa~c~-~r only is on duty at any one time. One of the four
dispatchers is a relief that works on the others' days off. One shift per
week is not covered by a dispatcher. An officer works the radio during that
shift. Officers also fill in when a dispatcher is sick, on holiday, or
vacation. The on duty dispatcher is sometimes bogged down with the amount
of work to be done at one time.
Generally, the shift with the most calls for service fs the 3PM to llPM shift.
More work is handled on the weekends than during the week. Dispatchers
answer City Hall's phone calls after 5PM and on weekends and holidays.
Dispatchers answer police, fires and ambulanc~ requests 24 hours per day
on phone line 293-4111.
PRESENT SITUATION AT S.O.: I talked with Sheriff Tue to gather some infor-
mation for this study. He says that usually on, on duty dispatcher handles
all the duties in their Communications aection. Sometimes, that person
gets behind on the calls because of workload. Their dispatchers are busiest
during the day and on weekends. Their slowest time is between 3AM and 8AM.
The Sheriff does not know how many phone calls are received on the averag~
day, but says they are multitudinous. Usually~ the deputies go off patrol
at about lAM, unless needed.
The S.O. dispatchers keep a written radio log of radio traffic. They do
not use call cards, cali sheets, or document all of their calls for service.
Their phone lines and radio frequencies are not recorded. Most of their
phone calls to Petersburg, Abernathy, and Hale Center are not long distance
calls because t~S.O, has extension phones of those Police Department's
incoming emergency lines. Those phones can be used to call those exchanges
locally. The S.O. receives many collect phone calls from other law enforce-
ment agencies in Texas who have served a Hale County warrant. The Sheriff
says his phOne bills can be quite high. The S.O. has only one phone number
for both emergency and non-emergency calls (296-2724) unlike the P.D.
SPECIFIC S.O. DISPATCHING DUTIES:
l. Dispatch for County units.
2. Dispatch for DPS units.
3. Dispatch for Petersburg P.D.
4. Dispatch for Hale Center P.D.
5. Dispatch for Abernathy P.D. after 5PM and on weekends and holidays.
6. Dispatch for Border Patrol, Texas Ranger, Game Warden, etc.
7. Answer phone lines for these agencies.
8. Answer fire phones for the County.
9. Run the S.O.'s teletype terminal.
S.O. RADIO FREQUENCIES MONITORED:
l. S.O. channel
2. Intercity channel
3. State-wide mobile to mobile (channel 3)
4. Abernathy radio frequency
911 SYSTEM PROPOSAL:' Currently, a move is afoot to try and get a 911 system
for all of the Hale County area. This would probably necessitate a centralized
dispatch center, or a "Public Safety Answering Point" (PSAP).
However, there are several versions of the 911 system, some having selective
routing and/or one button transfering'of calls. It is not clear yet what type
of service is available.for Hale County. It is also not clear what agencies
are willing and able to participate in the 911 program. It is generally agreed
that some type of 911 system would be beneficial for the citizens of this area,
including the City of Plainview, itself.
The Plainview Police Department answers morecalls for service than any other
law enforcement jurisdiction in the county. Plainview is the County Seat and
largest city in the county. The P.D. already answers incoming emergency calls
for police, fire, and EMS inside the City. It seems logical for the Plainview
P.D. dispatch center to be the PSAP for a Hale County 911 system.
Whether or not a 911 system becomes a reality, consolidated dispatching is
possible, but i.t will require more work, more manpower, and more money.
CONSOLIDATION REQUIREMENTS: On a consolidated 24 hour dispatching basis, at
least two full time on duty dispatchers would be needed almost around the clock.
More training would be needed for dispatchers to learn specifics of each agency.
Because of this specialized training and knowledge, it will be more important
for dispatchers (not officers) to be in the dispatch center all of the time.
It might be possible for one on duty dispatcher to handle all phone and radio
traffic from llPM to 7AM on Mondays through Thursdays. Weekends are generally
too hectic for one dispatcher to handle all of the traffic during the night.
Dispatching for the S.O. only after 5PM would mean using two dispatchers on
duty from 5PM to 1AM for 7 days per week. Then we would need two dispatchers
from 1AM to 9AM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
COST OF DISPATCHER FOR CITy O~ PLAINVIEW:
Wage (8-1 position = $6.46 per hour) amnually
Benefits-
FICA (City's part) 13,436.80 X .0715 =
Retirement (city's part) 13,436.80 X .0539 =
Workman's Compensation (9¢ X $100 of Salary).
Health Insurance
Uniforms
$13,436.80
960.73
724.24
12.09
846.72
420.40
TOTAL COST
(1986 figures)
$16,400.98
$65,603.92
$16,400.98 X 4 (present number of dispatchers) =
(Actual costs probably amount to about $70,000
because of longevity, step increases, overtime,
and so forth for our present dispatchers)
$16,400.98 X 3 (additional dispatchers needed after 5PM) = $49,202.94
$16,400.98 X 6 (additional dispatchers needed for 24 hours) = $98,405.88
I estimate thaf dispatching for the S.O. after 5PM would require us to hire
three more dispa'tchers to add to the four that we presently have for a total
of seven (7) dispatchers.
Dispatching for the S.0. for 24 hours would require us to hire an additional
six dispatchers to add to our present four ones for a total of 10 dispatchers.
One of them should handle supervisory responsibilities in addition to
dispatching, with a higher salary.
EOUIPMENT CONSIDERATIONS: Most of the extra cost would involve salaries, but
t~ere would be some equipment costs associated with dispatch consolidation.
They include extra phone lines, long distance bills, installation of radio
frequencies in the P.D.~ any 911 equipment, additional desk for supervisor,
costs of recording additional radio/phone channels, and possibly needing an
extra radio console and phone call director. The actual costs cannot be
pinned down unless decisions are made on what exactly will be supplied.
ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS OF DISPATCH CONSOLIDATION:
1. Billing and handling of long distance calls.
2. Keeping calls for service separated.
3. Inaccessibility of County records, warrants, jail statuses.
4. Training of dispatchers.
5. Scheduling and supervision of dispatchers.
6. Consistent radio procedures for all agencies and officers.
7. Recording of additional phone/radio lines.
8. Financing and .distribution of associated costs.
9. Political considerations (e.g., willingness of all agencies to participate,
loss of control over dispatching by some agencies, knowledge of territory,
dispatching priorities, notification procedures, etc.)
FEASIBILITY RECOMMENDATIONS:
l. Dispatch consolidation has been done successfully in other places. Although
many obstacles and problems have to be overcome, this arrangement CAN work
here.
2. Consolidation requires the full cooperation of all agencies involved. A
give and take spirit of helpfulnes.s will have to prevail to get the job done
satisfactorily.
3. Dispatch procedures and radio usage should be equally applied to all users.
Procedures should accommodate all jurisdictions.' Radio traffic should be
consistently professional. An acceptable, written SOP for dispatchers
should be adopted.
4. This step will mean an immediate need for additional personnel, more
training, more supervision and guidance, changes in equipment, and
finally more money. Current dispatcher cost is about $70,000 annually.
Consolidated dispatching after 5PM would mean an increase of about
$50,000 in salaries. And, 24 hour dispatching should cost us about
$100,000 more in salaries. Equipment costs at this point would be a
nebulous guessimate. Communications section will need 7 dispatchers to
dispatch after 5PM and 10 dispatchers to dispatch for the County for
24 hours.