2015 issues to watch: 911 Police Dispatch

The Longboat Key Police Department is down one dispatcher and is about to lose another.

John Sharp resigned to take a position with the Sarasota County Department of Transportation, and Susan Young plans to retire. A third dispatcher has an active application with another agency and is likely to resign, according to Police Chief Pete Cumming.

“We’re trying desperately to hire,” Cumming said. “We’re looking for certified dispatchers, but they’re harder to find now in part because of the fact that our future is questionable.”

Job candidates know there’s a possibility the open positions could disappear in the near future.

The town continues to scrutinize an offer the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office made in February 2013 to take over the town’s police dispatch services that would eliminate the department’s five positions.

“I can’t tell any applicant with any certainty that they’re going to have a job for any length of time,” Cumming said.

Currently, Manatee County dispatchers answer 911 calls placed from Longboat Key landlines, along with cellphone calls that ping to Manatee County cellular towers. A Sarasota County dispatcher answers cellphone calls if they ping to a cellular tower in Sarasota County.

If the call is police-related, it’s forwarded to a town dispatcher; if it’s a fire rescue call, a Manatee County dispatcher handles it.

If the town accepts Sarasota County’s offer, the county would dispatch both fire rescue and police calls.
The pros and cons of accepting Sarasota County’s offer or maintaining current services seemed clear until September, when Manatee County announced it would implement a new Next Gen 911 system that can support technologies such as texting, video messaging, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and telematics.

The town will face costly upgrades if it sticks with Manatee County but continues to wait on estimates of just how high those costs could run. Although the town will save on personnel costs if it accepts Sarasota County’s offer, consolidation would come with costs of addressing connectivity that still have yet to be determined.

The decision, however, goes beyond costs. Residents and commissioners worry that consolidation could affect the level of service they currently receive from Longboat Key dispatchers.

Town Manager Dave Bullock described the dilemma at the commission’s November workshop.

“...you get a very reliable communications center with lots of call takers and a lot of depth in the dispatch side,” Bullock said of the county. “But it’s also a concern for us because our dispatchers have an average of 10 years of service. They know everything there is to know about little old Longboat Key.”

Meanwhile, being short-staffed is costing the town for dispatch services. Cumming sometimes has to pay a sworn police officer time-and-a-half to dispatch calls. (Police officer salaries start at approximately $46,000; dispatcher salaries range from $32,531.20 to $42,785.60.)

Cumming said he hopes to get estimates of costs within the next month that will help him make a recommendation to the commission.

“I just want to do all of our due diligence with regard to financial information,” he said. “Nobody can make that decision right now because that’s this huge variable.”

FACTS FOR ’15
The issue: The town faces major changes to its 911 dispatchers as it weighs whether to accept Sarasota County’s offer of consolidation or costly upgrades through Manatee County.

Why you should care: The decision will determine how your police 911 calls are handled.

Timeline: Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming hopes to receive additional information within a month that will allow him to make a recommendation.