- April 30, 2024
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When you're on Longboat Key and call 911, who will pick up the phone?
In recent years, it's been Sarasota County Sheriff's Office dispatch, whom Longboat Key contracted with in 2015 to improve dispatch services on the island.
But some recent complaints from residents have prompted town officials to take another look at Longboat's dispatch service.
At a Town Commission meeting on Sept. 11, resident and former town commissioner Lynn Larson came forward to share her concerns.
She started with a story about how she called the non-emergency number after Hurricane Idalia because there was a loose floating dock threatening damage to her property.
While attempting to hold onto the dock with the help of her husband, Larson was on the phone with Sarasota County Sheriff's Office dispatch.
The dispatcher told Larson to hang up and call Charlotte County, since that was where her location seemed to be.
Larson went back and forth with the dispatcher, trying to explain that she was not in Charlotte County. Eventually, the issue was resolved and help arrived.
But Larson feared what would have happened if she had fallen into the water, or was injured with no neighbors around and a lack of assistance from dispatch.
Another time, Larson said she was driving on Gulf of Mexico Drive when she witnessed a car go off the road. There was another car following her closely, so she couldn’t stop to check on the driver.
She called 911 and was put on hold.
Frustrated after being on hold for a couple minutes, she called the Longboat Key Town Hall front desk, which forwarded her call to the Longboat Key Police Department.
It wasn’t until Larson arrived home when the Sarasota County dispatch called her back, asking for more details about the incident.
Larson brought up these concerns at the Sept. 11 commission meeting, and a couple of her neighbors backed her claims, though none wanted to share their own stories.
Mayor Ken Schneier was the first to respond to Larson at the meeting.
“We’ve had a number of issues and a number of complaints over the years about dispatch,” Schneier said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work very well … It’s something that we should take a look at again and have some further discussion.”
Commissioner-at-Large BJ Bishop added that out of the seven commissioners, none of them were around when the changes were made to the dispatch services.
She commented that she had personal issues with dispatch as well, and agreed it was time to look into the issues.
“This is a new issue for everyone that’s here on the commission to have a chance to weigh in,” Bishop said.
Larson was on the Town Commission in 2015 when the decision was made to switch all Longboat Key dispatch services to Sarasota County.
She said, at the time, Longboat Key’s dispatch equipment was outdated and needed to be replaced. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office assured solid service.
“Nothing has been delivered,” she said at the Sept. 11 commission meeting.
Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department Chief Paul Dezzi said it took a couple years of discussions and meetings to lead to the 2015 contract with Sarasota County.
Dispatch through Sarasota County Sheriff's Office took effect in 2016.
Previously, Longboat Key had a dispatch service for the police and fire departments. A room in the police department served as headquarters.
Then, in 2009, the Fire Rescue Department switched their dispatch services to Manatee County.
This arrangement worked for some time, Dezzi said, but around 2013, then Town Manager Dave Bullock decided to look into making some changes with the dispatch service.
Both Manatee and Sarasota County were contacted during the early talks, Dezzi said, but ultimately Sarasota County was chosen to be the unified funnel for Longboat Key’s dispatch.
Since the switch, Dezzi’s department has hosted Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers to take a tour of the island and some of the emergency service buildings on the island.
With Longboat Key in two different counties and having its own lingo, it’s been necessary to bring dispatchers in as a part of their training.
In exchange, the town commission would take a trip to visit the dispatch center.
“It is time to do it again with the new commissioners,” Dezzi said. “ I think it might be wise to bring them over and have a look and ask questions.”
Before making any decisions, Town Manager Howard Tipton stressed the importance of doing all the necessary research.
Tipton started his due diligence, and already met with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office to talk about the issues.
After pulling together some of the background data and examining the situation more, Tipton said the next step would be to clearly define the problem statement. Only then can solutions start forming.
Speaking from what he’s heard in the past, Tipton said emergency dispatch is a very difficult job, which is where he thinks some of the issues may stem from.
“It’s one of the hardest jobs in public safety,” Tipton said. “Every call is a tough call, every call is someone’s worst day. And it just wears on you.”
The dispatchers often get burnt out, he said, which leads to employee turnover.
Larson said her ideal situation would be for dispatch to be moved back to Longboat Key.
But Dezzi said that may not be feasible.
“It would be very expensive,” Dezzi said. “The technology, the service would not be what we have today.”
Not only would new technology need to be purchased, but staff would need to be hired to handle the calls. That means more salaries and benefits on the town’s payroll.
And even though Longboat Key would hypothetically have dispatch back on the island, Dezzi said the 911 calls would come through public safety answering points. Once received there, then calls would be transferred to Longboat Key dispatch, who would send the calls to either police or fire.
That would cause a delay, Dezzi said, which isn’t there with just the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office handling the dispatch.
Dezzi said he’s also spoken with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and asked them to present at a commission meeting in the near future. The office could inform the commission and residents about how the center functions, and also explain the difference between emergency and non-emergency lines.
Tipton said after the talks and presentations, it likely wouldn't be until December or January before there’s much progress.
At the Oct. 2 town commission meeting, Tipton mentioned that an idea had recently been discussed to have nonemergency calls be taken at the town clerk's office during business hours, and contracted out after hours.
Commissioners were in agreement to continue the conversation in the near future, but most seemed in favor of the idea.
Captain Dan Tutko leads the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office Emergency Operations Center dispatch, and said he’s aware of issues raised by Longboat Key residents. But he also said it’s important to keep the bigger picture in mind.
The EOC dispatches calls in the unincorporated portion of Sarasota County, Venice, North Port and Longboat Key.
In 2022, the center saw 657,000 total calls. Year-to-date in 2023, the total call volume is at 506,000.
By the end of the year, Tutko expects there to be 100,000 more calls than last year, a 20% increase.
In April, Tutko said the sheriff’s office put together an automated call service to try to redirect other calls from the dispatch call center.
Calls like corrections, animal services and court documents would have previously been routed through the same center. The automated line redirected about 7,000 calls in the first three months of its existence.
Each day, the emergency center takes an average of 800 emergency 911 calls, according to Tutko. There’s also an additional 1,200 non-emergency calls each day.
With all those calls, Tutko’s staff consists of 94 call takers. That’s still 22 employees short of being fully staffed.
But it’s not for a lack of trying. Tutko said he’s made efforts to recruit by going to career fairs, utilizing social media and offering a $2,000 hiring bonus.
Tutko said the training is not as easy as people might expect.
“It’s not a job, it’s a career,” Tutko said.
It starts with a 2-3 month hiring process. Then, new recruits enter a six-week training academy to learn how to take and dispatch calls. Once they pass the academy, then recruits spend 17 weeks with a field training officer.
Tutko started in early 2021, when there were 24 vacancies. The number has fluctuated over the years, with the most vacancies being 36 at one point.
The issue of staffing emergency dispatch centers has been felt across the United States, according to Tutko.
On top of vacancies are occasional call-outs, which then require other workers to pick up the slack. There’s also a mandatory overtime requirement for all employees, and some employees choose to pick up even more shifts.
And it’s not an easy job.
“You have cardiac arrest, you have childbirth, you have robberies, you have shootings,” Tutko said. “All these things that play on your emotions. And the hardest part here is, they can only do so much. And that’s what weighs on people.”
Though the center may be facing some staffing issues, Tutko said every emergency call is taken seriously.
Non-emergency calls may be put on hold, Tutko said, because the center prioritizes emergency calls.
Brief holds may also occur for 911 calls. But Tutko said it’s important to stay on the line because calls are answered in the order they are received. If a person were to hang up and call again, that person would lose their spot in the queue.
In terms of Larson’s issue with being told she was in the wrong county, Tutko admitted that there was some fault on the dispatch end.
But Tutko also said his staff is doing the best they can — training people to a high degree and utilizing up-to-date technology to help them perform their best.
“We know that there’s things on our end that we can do, but there has to be this understanding that all because you live in a certain portion of the county doesn’t mean that your phone calls are more important than anybody else’s,” Tutko said.
