Chittenden County Regional Dispatch Implementation Background 1. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Chittenden County Regional Dispatch Implementation

1.

Background

2.

Why are we doing this?

3.

DELTAWRX Recommendations

4.

Governance Work Group Recommendations

5.

Proposed next steps

6.

Questions?

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

PSAP Map

Public Safety Answering Points Why are we doing this?

 The PSAP transfer

adds an average of 90 extra sec. per 911 call

 The NFPA

recommends that 80% of calls are processed within 60 seconds and that 95%

• f calls are processed

within 106 seconds

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

 Our proposed plan is the result of a participatory and interactive

process

 Interviews with 60+ individuals from project sponsor agencies, the Vermont State Police, Vermont Enhanced 9-1-1 Board and CrossWind Technologies  Builds on the preferences, assumptions and requirements agreed upon during an interim workshop in November, including the desire to pursue full consolidation among the project sponsors  Continuously refined to take into account the ongoing efforts of the Governance Work Group  The objective of this presentation is to  Describe how consolidation will impact the current environment  Document the state of the future Chittenden County consolidated communications center

Background

Page 3

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Addresses Issues Specific to Chittenden County

Page 4

Staffing

• Issue: 6 Locations have single person minimum staffing which

limits the dispatcher’s ability to prioritize incidents and offers no redundancy in the event of a major emergency

• Solution: Consolidation eliminates this risk through increased

staffing; model also positively impacts staffing by creating time for supervision, quality assurance, ongoing training and after action reporting and by offering career advancement opportunities

Mutual Aid

• Issue: Mutual aid is requested through a manual, sequential

process which lengthens call processing times

• Solution: Consolidation minimizes this issue by providing a

collective view of participating agencies’ resource availability and allowing CAD to systematically select the most appropriate resource based on pre-defined parameters; on occasion external resources will still be required

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Addresses Issues Specific to Chittenden County

Page 5

Fire/EMS Calls

• Issue: There is no dedicated oversight during Fire/EMS calls for

service, posing a risk to first responder safety

• Solution: Consolidation eliminates this issue by creating a fire
• perations position(s) consistent with NFPA guidelines; further,

associated improvements in technology will help bring Fire/EMS dispatching in line with industry standards

Call Taking Process

• Issue: PSAPs transfer calls to Dispatch Centers, lengthening the

call taking process*

• Solution: Consolidation minimizes this issue by transitioning

dispatch centers into a PSAP and thus assuming call answering duties (a small percentage of calls will still be transferred)

* Shelburne is already a PSAP and therefore an exception

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

 Personnel costs account for about 93% of dispatch expenses in the

current environment and are thus a key metric in financial analysis

 Dispatch centers are currently authorized to employ 45 FTE  Consolidation model requires up to 38 FTE (conservative staffing)  45 – 38 = 7 FTE = up to $412,000/year; minimum of $50,000/yr  The reduction of 7 FTE can occur through natural attrition  Dispatcher turnover is about 8%/year, low by national standards  38 FTE * 8% = Loss of 3 FTE per year through natural attrition  Some dispatchers may opt out of moving to the consolidated entity  6 Police Departments will need to reassign non-communications

duties currently performed by dispatchers

 This will require between 0-6 FTE, depending on existing capacity, for a net “savings” of 1-7 FTE

• These duties may be able to be covered by existing

Police Department employees

Countywide Consolidation Decreases Staffing Requirements

Page 6

Staffing temporarily increases during first phase of the transition period

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Challenges

Page 7

Challenge Mitigation Strategy

Organizational Change Posed to Dispatchers Dispatchers are integral to the process, must be respected as professionals and thoughtfully involved: communicate transparently, address rumors, invest in transition training and create a forum for pre- and post-cutover feedback Pay and Benefit Considerations Consider current bargaining agreements, workload, experience, technology and complexity in developing a competitive compensation package Standardization Agency chiefs must be prepared to compromise: with few exceptions, SOPs that cannot be uniquely configured in CAD should be standardized Operational Changes In addition to changes in the Communications Center, field personnel will need to change how they conduct daily

• perations (e.g., radio usage)

Differing Perspectives

• n Technology

Prioritize “must have” functionality over a given vendor and leave the door open for future changes

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Challenges

Page 8

Challenge Mitigation Strategy

Leadership Adequately fund the Executive Director position and begin recruiting early: this leader must be perceived as competent, fair and strong and available to support the transition Emergency Service and Community Equity Governance structure must be perceived as fair by all parties and provide a voice for smaller communities Loss of 24x7 Administrative Desk at the Police Departments Communication: Assure community members that public safety emergency services will remain available around the clock and that they will benefit from improved service delivery; educate citizens on administrative services that will be reduced to business hours; seek after-hours self-service solutions (e.g., exterior form box)

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap Page 9

 The proposed timeline is best case scenario, but doable through

teamwork, a commitment to compromise and clear roles and responsibilities

Timeline

• Serves Burlington

and one or two

• ther communities
• Functions as a

dispatch center until Shelburne joins, at which time it will become a PSAP

• Could begin from

existing facility

Phase 1: July 2018

• Adds two to three
• ther communities
• Operates from the

ultimate facility

Phase 2: January 2019

• Adds final project

sponsor communities

• Poised to add
• ther communities
• n a contract-for-

service basis once

• perations have

stabilized

Phase 3: December 2019

Draft Chittenden County Dispatch Center

Executive Director Executive Board (5-8 appointed) by Communities now providing dispatch Shift Supervisors also fill in Dispatch Training & QA/QC

(Software Expert/Interface)

IT/Telecom

(Alarms/DPS Software/ Hardware/Integration)

BPD Dispatch Police Dispatch Backup Dispatch Fire/EMS Dispatcher Fire/EMS Ops

10 Police Chiefs 18 Fire Chiefs

Assessments to 5-8 Member Towns 32-38 total staff based on DWRX interim report Advisory Committee with reps from: 5 cross trained dispatchers:

10 Rescue Chiefs

Page 10

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Governance Issues

• 1. Legislative/Enabling Authority
• 2. CEO and board of directors
• 3. Voting and financial contributions
• 4. Long term debt capacity
• 5. Authority to enter collective bargaining agreements
• 6. Responsibility to and for employees
• 7. Stakeholder/customer satisfaction
• 8. Authority to bind contracts
• 9. Leverage existing support functions: HR, finance, risk management and

insurance, budgeting, buildings, IT infrastructure, telecom

• 10. Capacity To grow/expand
• 11. Coordination across County

Page 11

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Models Examined

• 1. Inter-municipal contracting
• 2. Regional special purpose government w/

legislative charter

• 3. Intermunicipal service agreement with CCRPC
• 4. Non-profit under CCRPC
• 5. Non-profit formed by Municipalities
• 6. Interlocal police services organization
• 7. Union municipal district – RECOMMENDED

Review included Municipal & CCRPC legal counsel

Page 12

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Union Municipal District - 24 VSA Ch. 121, Sub. 3

Benefits:

• Legislative power (enforceable ordinances):
• Alarm ordinances for businesses
• Prosecution of false 911 calls and or reports to police
• Future: animal control, etc.
• Borrow at low government rates
• Apply directly for grants
• Government immunity
• Less complex governance structure
• No need for State legislative approval of charter
• Joint Survey Committee (pre-public vote board) authorized to
• Research technical issues and solutions: location, software, equipment, phasing
• Draft charter, bylaws, funding mechanisms
• Develop organization with funding from Cities/Towns
• Develop public information

Page 13

Union Municipal District: Governance

Executive Director Executive Board (5-8 appointed)

10 Police Chiefs 18 Fire Chiefs 10 Rescue Chiefs

• Hire Communications Director
• Budget Vote
• Long Term Commitments with 5-8 Communities

with Dispatch

• Fees for service ($/call) with other Towns
• Pay, benefits and human resources
• Debt obligations through long term contracts with

member communities only

• Vendor Contracts

Advisory Committee w/ reps from: Regional Planning Commission

staff coordinating and contracted support

• GIS
• Finance
• Intergovernmental Coordination/Facilitation/Open meetings
• Support Advisory Committee

Page 14

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Organizing

 Feb/March 2017 – Meet with Towns operating dispatch services  Make appointment to Joint Survey Committee

 February 2017 – Technical Advisory Committee starts meeting  March 2017 – Organize Joint Survey Committee

 March 2017 – Meet with rest of Towns to provide update  March 2017 – Begin ongoing informational meetings with dispatchers  Spring 2017 - CCRPC Bylaws approved to enable offering services to

Joint Survey Committee

Page 15

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Development

 Spring 2017 – draft Charter for union municipal district  Summer 2017 - draft budget and assessments prepared for proposed

members (those who appoint Joint Survey Committee members) and contract fee rates for others

 Fall 2017 – obtain commitment of Joint Survey municipalities to fund part

time and/or interim Exec Director in FY 18 via contract with CCRPC

 Fall/Winter 2017 – communications to participating towns in preparation for

Town Meeting Day votes

 Winter 2017 – Joint Survey Committee hires interim Exec Director through

contract with CCRPC: find space; arrange support services; integrate of radio systems, telecom, and upgrade CAD; benefits and pay; operating procedures; plan of dispatch agency integration; redundancy and testing plans

Page 16

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Decisions

 Winter 2017-2018 - Towns committed to vote on regional entity will propose

funding for dispatch services in their FY 19 budgets, in such a manner that it could go to the new regional entity (if the Town votes to join) or to retain service in house (if the Town votes not to join).

 Spring 2018 - Town Meeting votes on membership  Spring 2018 - Determine costs, assessment and onboarding plan (which municipal

dispatch centers close when) that works based on actual members

 April 2018 - Municipal members cede dispatching authority per onboarding plan  April 2018 - Begin to hire employees in a staggered manner to set up and test

systems, leave municipal ops in place but build team

 July 1, 2018+ - Agency begins providing dispatch services to at least one

communities who voted to join and continue to onboard per plan

Page 17

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Moving forward

 It is hoped that all Chittenden County municipalities ultimately participate in the

regional dispatch entity

 Cities and Towns that operate dispatch services  Further explore becoming members in union municipal district dispatch entity

 Appointment to the Joint Survey Committee.

 Other communities would have fees for service and representation through an

advisory committee of public safety chiefs

 Mix of funding and commitments will help keep the regional dispatch entity

focused on both service and quality

Page 18

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

THANK YOU! Questions?

For more information, contact:

 Charlie Baker, cbaker@ccrpcvt.org or 735-3500  Joe Colangelo, jcolangelo@shelburnevt.org or 985-5111  Aaron Frank, AFrank@colchestervt.gov or 264-5509  Lee Krohn, lkrohn@ccrpcvt.org or 861-0118 Work to date can be found at:  http://www.ccrpcvt.org/our-work/emergency-management/regional-dispatch/

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Chittenden County Regional Dispatch Implementation

1.

Background

2.

Why are we doing this?

3.

DELTAWRX Recommendations

4.

Governance Work Group Recommendations

5.

Proposed next steps

6.

Questions?

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

PSAP Map

Public Safety Answering Points Why are we doing this?

 The PSAP transfer

adds an average of 90 extra sec. per 911 call

 The NFPA

recommends that 80% of calls are processed within 60 seconds and that 95%

• f calls are processed

within 106 seconds

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

 Our proposed plan is the result of a participatory and interactive

process

 Interviews with 60+ individuals from project sponsor agencies, the Vermont State Police, Vermont Enhanced 9-1-1 Board and CrossWind Technologies  Builds on the preferences, assumptions and requirements agreed upon during an interim workshop in November, including the desire to pursue full consolidation among the project sponsors  Continuously refined to take into account the ongoing efforts of the Governance Work Group  The objective of this presentation is to  Describe how consolidation will impact the current environment  Document the state of the future Chittenden County consolidated communications center

Background

Page 3

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Addresses Issues Specific to Chittenden County

Page 4

Staffing

• Issue: 6 Locations have single person minimum staffing which

limits the dispatcher’s ability to prioritize incidents and offers no redundancy in the event of a major emergency

• Solution: Consolidation eliminates this risk through increased

staffing; model also positively impacts staffing by creating time for supervision, quality assurance, ongoing training and after action reporting and by offering career advancement opportunities

Mutual Aid

• Issue: Mutual aid is requested through a manual, sequential

process which lengthens call processing times

• Solution: Consolidation minimizes this issue by providing a

collective view of participating agencies’ resource availability and allowing CAD to systematically select the most appropriate resource based on pre-defined parameters; on occasion external resources will still be required

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Addresses Issues Specific to Chittenden County

Page 5

Fire/EMS Calls

• Issue: There is no dedicated oversight during Fire/EMS calls for

service, posing a risk to first responder safety

• Solution: Consolidation eliminates this issue by creating a fire
• perations position(s) consistent with NFPA guidelines; further,

associated improvements in technology will help bring Fire/EMS dispatching in line with industry standards

Call Taking Process

• Issue: PSAPs transfer calls to Dispatch Centers, lengthening the

call taking process*

• Solution: Consolidation minimizes this issue by transitioning

dispatch centers into a PSAP and thus assuming call answering duties (a small percentage of calls will still be transferred)

* Shelburne is already a PSAP and therefore an exception

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

 Personnel costs account for about 93% of dispatch expenses in the

current environment and are thus a key metric in financial analysis

 Dispatch centers are currently authorized to employ 45 FTE  Consolidation model requires up to 38 FTE (conservative staffing)  45 – 38 = 7 FTE = up to $412,000/year; minimum of $50,000/yr  The reduction of 7 FTE can occur through natural attrition  Dispatcher turnover is about 8%/year, low by national standards  38 FTE * 8% = Loss of 3 FTE per year through natural attrition  Some dispatchers may opt out of moving to the consolidated entity  6 Police Departments will need to reassign non-communications

duties currently performed by dispatchers

 This will require between 0-6 FTE, depending on existing capacity, for a net “savings” of 1-7 FTE

• These duties may be able to be covered by existing

Police Department employees

Countywide Consolidation Decreases Staffing Requirements

Page 6

Staffing temporarily increases during first phase of the transition period

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Challenges

Page 7

Challenge Mitigation Strategy

Organizational Change Posed to Dispatchers Dispatchers are integral to the process, must be respected as professionals and thoughtfully involved: communicate transparently, address rumors, invest in transition training and create a forum for pre- and post-cutover feedback Pay and Benefit Considerations Consider current bargaining agreements, workload, experience, technology and complexity in developing a competitive compensation package Standardization Agency chiefs must be prepared to compromise: with few exceptions, SOPs that cannot be uniquely configured in CAD should be standardized Operational Changes In addition to changes in the Communications Center, field personnel will need to change how they conduct daily

• perations (e.g., radio usage)

Differing Perspectives

• n Technology

Prioritize “must have” functionality over a given vendor and leave the door open for future changes

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Challenges

Page 8

Challenge Mitigation Strategy

Leadership Adequately fund the Executive Director position and begin recruiting early: this leader must be perceived as competent, fair and strong and available to support the transition Emergency Service and Community Equity Governance structure must be perceived as fair by all parties and provide a voice for smaller communities Loss of 24x7 Administrative Desk at the Police Departments Communication: Assure community members that public safety emergency services will remain available around the clock and that they will benefit from improved service delivery; educate citizens on administrative services that will be reduced to business hours; seek after-hours self-service solutions (e.g., exterior form box)

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap Page 9

 The proposed timeline is best case scenario, but doable through

teamwork, a commitment to compromise and clear roles and responsibilities

Timeline

• Serves Burlington

and one or two

• ther communities
• Functions as a

dispatch center until Shelburne joins, at which time it will become a PSAP

• Could begin from

existing facility

Phase 1: July 2018

• Adds two to three
• ther communities
• Operates from the

ultimate facility

Phase 2: January 2019

• Adds final project

sponsor communities

• Poised to add
• ther communities
• n a contract-for-

service basis once

• perations have

stabilized

Phase 3: December 2019

Draft Chittenden County Dispatch Center

Executive Director Executive Board (5-8 appointed) by Communities now providing dispatch Shift Supervisors also fill in Dispatch Training & QA/QC

(Software Expert/Interface)

IT/Telecom

(Alarms/DPS Software/ Hardware/Integration)

BPD Dispatch Police Dispatch Backup Dispatch Fire/EMS Dispatcher Fire/EMS Ops

10 Police Chiefs 18 Fire Chiefs

Assessments to 5-8 Member Towns 32-38 total staff based on DWRX interim report Advisory Committee with reps from: 5 cross trained dispatchers:

10 Rescue Chiefs

Page 10

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Governance Issues

• 1. Legislative/Enabling Authority
• 2. CEO and board of directors
• 3. Voting and financial contributions
• 4. Long term debt capacity
• 5. Authority to enter collective bargaining agreements
• 6. Responsibility to and for employees
• 7. Stakeholder/customer satisfaction
• 8. Authority to bind contracts
• 9. Leverage existing support functions: HR, finance, risk management and

insurance, budgeting, buildings, IT infrastructure, telecom

• 10. Capacity To grow/expand
• 11. Coordination across County

Page 11

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Models Examined

• 1. Inter-municipal contracting
• 2. Regional special purpose government w/

legislative charter

• 3. Intermunicipal service agreement with CCRPC
• 4. Non-profit under CCRPC
• 5. Non-profit formed by Municipalities
• 6. Interlocal police services organization
• 7. Union municipal district – RECOMMENDED

Review included Municipal & CCRPC legal counsel

Page 12

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Union Municipal District - 24 VSA Ch. 121, Sub. 3

Benefits:

• Legislative power (enforceable ordinances):
• Alarm ordinances for businesses
• Prosecution of false 911 calls and or reports to police
• Future: animal control, etc.
• Borrow at low government rates
• Apply directly for grants
• Government immunity
• Less complex governance structure
• No need for State legislative approval of charter
• Joint Survey Committee (pre-public vote board) authorized to
• Research technical issues and solutions: location, software, equipment, phasing
• Draft charter, bylaws, funding mechanisms
• Develop organization with funding from Cities/Towns
• Develop public information

Page 13

Union Municipal District: Governance

Executive Director Executive Board (5-8 appointed)

10 Police Chiefs 18 Fire Chiefs 10 Rescue Chiefs

• Hire Communications Director
• Budget Vote
• Long Term Commitments with 5-8 Communities

with Dispatch

• Fees for service ($/call) with other Towns
• Pay, benefits and human resources
• Debt obligations through long term contracts with

member communities only

• Vendor Contracts

Advisory Committee w/ reps from: Regional Planning Commission

staff coordinating and contracted support

• GIS
• Finance
• Intergovernmental Coordination/Facilitation/Open meetings
• Support Advisory Committee

Page 14

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Organizing

 Feb/March 2017 – Meet with Towns operating dispatch services  Make appointment to Joint Survey Committee

 February 2017 – Technical Advisory Committee starts meeting  March 2017 – Organize Joint Survey Committee

 March 2017 – Meet with rest of Towns to provide update  March 2017 – Begin ongoing informational meetings with dispatchers  Spring 2017 - CCRPC Bylaws approved to enable offering services to

Joint Survey Committee

Page 15

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Development

 Spring 2017 – draft Charter for union municipal district  Summer 2017 - draft budget and assessments prepared for proposed

members (those who appoint Joint Survey Committee members) and contract fee rates for others

 Fall 2017 – obtain commitment of Joint Survey municipalities to fund part

time and/or interim Exec Director in FY 18 via contract with CCRPC

 Fall/Winter 2017 – communications to participating towns in preparation for

Town Meeting Day votes

 Winter 2017 – Joint Survey Committee hires interim Exec Director through

contract with CCRPC: find space; arrange support services; integrate of radio systems, telecom, and upgrade CAD; benefits and pay; operating procedures; plan of dispatch agency integration; redundancy and testing plans

Page 16

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Decisions

 Winter 2017-2018 - Towns committed to vote on regional entity will propose

funding for dispatch services in their FY 19 budgets, in such a manner that it could go to the new regional entity (if the Town votes to join) or to retain service in house (if the Town votes not to join).

 Spring 2018 - Town Meeting votes on membership  Spring 2018 - Determine costs, assessment and onboarding plan (which municipal

dispatch centers close when) that works based on actual members

 April 2018 - Municipal members cede dispatching authority per onboarding plan  April 2018 - Begin to hire employees in a staggered manner to set up and test

systems, leave municipal ops in place but build team

 July 1, 2018+ - Agency begins providing dispatch services to at least one

communities who voted to join and continue to onboard per plan

Page 17

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Moving forward

 It is hoped that all Chittenden County municipalities ultimately participate in the

regional dispatch entity

 Cities and Towns that operate dispatch services  Further explore becoming members in union municipal district dispatch entity

 Appointment to the Joint Survey Committee.

 Other communities would have fees for service and representation through an

advisory committee of public safety chiefs

 Mix of funding and commitments will help keep the regional dispatch entity

focused on both service and quality

Page 18

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

THANK YOU! Questions?

For more information, contact:

 Charlie Baker, cbaker@ccrpcvt.org or 735-3500  Joe Colangelo, jcolangelo@shelburnevt.org or 985-5111  Aaron Frank, AFrank@colchestervt.gov or 264-5509  Lee Krohn, lkrohn@ccrpcvt.org or 861-0118 Work to date can be found at:  http://www.ccrpcvt.org/our-work/emergency-management/regional-dispatch/

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Chittenden County Regional Dispatch Implementation

1.

Background

2.

Why are we doing this?

3.

DELTAWRX Recommendations

4.

Governance Work Group Recommendations

5.

Proposed next steps

6.

Questions?

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

PSAP Map

Public Safety Answering Points Why are we doing this?

 The PSAP transfer

adds an average of 90 extra sec. per 911 call

 The NFPA

recommends that 80% of calls are processed within 60 seconds and that 95%

• f calls are processed

within 106 seconds

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

 Our proposed plan is the result of a participatory and interactive

process

 Interviews with 60+ individuals from project sponsor agencies, the Vermont State Police, Vermont Enhanced 9-1-1 Board and CrossWind Technologies  Builds on the preferences, assumptions and requirements agreed upon during an interim workshop in November, including the desire to pursue full consolidation among the project sponsors  Continuously refined to take into account the ongoing efforts of the Governance Work Group  The objective of this presentation is to  Describe how consolidation will impact the current environment  Document the state of the future Chittenden County consolidated communications center

Background

Page 3

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Addresses Issues Specific to Chittenden County

Page 4

Staffing

• Issue: 6 Locations have single person minimum staffing which

limits the dispatcher’s ability to prioritize incidents and offers no redundancy in the event of a major emergency

• Solution: Consolidation eliminates this risk through increased

staffing; model also positively impacts staffing by creating time for supervision, quality assurance, ongoing training and after action reporting and by offering career advancement opportunities

Mutual Aid

• Issue: Mutual aid is requested through a manual, sequential

process which lengthens call processing times

• Solution: Consolidation minimizes this issue by providing a

collective view of participating agencies’ resource availability and allowing CAD to systematically select the most appropriate resource based on pre-defined parameters; on occasion external resources will still be required

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Addresses Issues Specific to Chittenden County

Page 5

Fire/EMS Calls

• Issue: There is no dedicated oversight during Fire/EMS calls for

service, posing a risk to first responder safety

• Solution: Consolidation eliminates this issue by creating a fire
• perations position(s) consistent with NFPA guidelines; further,

associated improvements in technology will help bring Fire/EMS dispatching in line with industry standards

Call Taking Process

• Issue: PSAPs transfer calls to Dispatch Centers, lengthening the

call taking process*

• Solution: Consolidation minimizes this issue by transitioning

dispatch centers into a PSAP and thus assuming call answering duties (a small percentage of calls will still be transferred)

* Shelburne is already a PSAP and therefore an exception

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

 Personnel costs account for about 93% of dispatch expenses in the

current environment and are thus a key metric in financial analysis

 Dispatch centers are currently authorized to employ 45 FTE  Consolidation model requires up to 38 FTE (conservative staffing)  45 – 38 = 7 FTE = up to $412,000/year; minimum of $50,000/yr  The reduction of 7 FTE can occur through natural attrition  Dispatcher turnover is about 8%/year, low by national standards  38 FTE * 8% = Loss of 3 FTE per year through natural attrition  Some dispatchers may opt out of moving to the consolidated entity  6 Police Departments will need to reassign non-communications

duties currently performed by dispatchers

 This will require between 0-6 FTE, depending on existing capacity, for a net “savings” of 1-7 FTE

• These duties may be able to be covered by existing

Police Department employees

Countywide Consolidation Decreases Staffing Requirements

Page 6

Staffing temporarily increases during first phase of the transition period

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Challenges

Page 7

Challenge Mitigation Strategy

Organizational Change Posed to Dispatchers Dispatchers are integral to the process, must be respected as professionals and thoughtfully involved: communicate transparently, address rumors, invest in transition training and create a forum for pre- and post-cutover feedback Pay and Benefit Considerations Consider current bargaining agreements, workload, experience, technology and complexity in developing a competitive compensation package Standardization Agency chiefs must be prepared to compromise: with few exceptions, SOPs that cannot be uniquely configured in CAD should be standardized Operational Changes In addition to changes in the Communications Center, field personnel will need to change how they conduct daily

• perations (e.g., radio usage)

Differing Perspectives

• n Technology

Prioritize “must have” functionality over a given vendor and leave the door open for future changes

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Consolidation Challenges

Page 8

Challenge Mitigation Strategy

Leadership Adequately fund the Executive Director position and begin recruiting early: this leader must be perceived as competent, fair and strong and available to support the transition Emergency Service and Community Equity Governance structure must be perceived as fair by all parties and provide a voice for smaller communities Loss of 24x7 Administrative Desk at the Police Departments Communication: Assure community members that public safety emergency services will remain available around the clock and that they will benefit from improved service delivery; educate citizens on administrative services that will be reduced to business hours; seek after-hours self-service solutions (e.g., exterior form box)

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap Page 9

 The proposed timeline is best case scenario, but doable through

teamwork, a commitment to compromise and clear roles and responsibilities

Timeline

• Serves Burlington

and one or two

• ther communities
• Functions as a

dispatch center until Shelburne joins, at which time it will become a PSAP

• Could begin from

existing facility

Phase 1: July 2018

• Adds two to three
• ther communities
• Operates from the

ultimate facility

Phase 2: January 2019

• Adds final project

sponsor communities

• Poised to add
• ther communities
• n a contract-for-

service basis once

• perations have

stabilized

Phase 3: December 2019

Draft Chittenden County Dispatch Center

Executive Director Executive Board (5-8 appointed) by Communities now providing dispatch Shift Supervisors also fill in Dispatch Training & QA/QC

(Software Expert/Interface)

IT/Telecom

(Alarms/DPS Software/ Hardware/Integration)

BPD Dispatch Police Dispatch Backup Dispatch Fire/EMS Dispatcher Fire/EMS Ops

10 Police Chiefs 18 Fire Chiefs

Assessments to 5-8 Member Towns 32-38 total staff based on DWRX interim report Advisory Committee with reps from: 5 cross trained dispatchers:

10 Rescue Chiefs

Page 10

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Governance Issues

• 1. Legislative/Enabling Authority
• 2. CEO and board of directors
• 3. Voting and financial contributions
• 4. Long term debt capacity
• 5. Authority to enter collective bargaining agreements
• 6. Responsibility to and for employees
• 7. Stakeholder/customer satisfaction
• 8. Authority to bind contracts
• 9. Leverage existing support functions: HR, finance, risk management and

insurance, budgeting, buildings, IT infrastructure, telecom

• 10. Capacity To grow/expand
• 11. Coordination across County

Page 11

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Models Examined

• 1. Inter-municipal contracting
• 2. Regional special purpose government w/

legislative charter

• 3. Intermunicipal service agreement with CCRPC
• 4. Non-profit under CCRPC
• 5. Non-profit formed by Municipalities
• 6. Interlocal police services organization
• 7. Union municipal district – RECOMMENDED

Review included Municipal & CCRPC legal counsel

Page 12

Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Union Municipal District - 24 VSA Ch. 121, Sub. 3

Benefits:

• Legislative power (enforceable ordinances):
• Alarm ordinances for businesses
• Prosecution of false 911 calls and or reports to police
• Future: animal control, etc.
• Borrow at low government rates
• Apply directly for grants
• Government immunity
• Less complex governance structure
• No need for State legislative approval of charter
• Joint Survey Committee (pre-public vote board) authorized to
• Research technical issues and solutions: location, software, equipment, phasing
• Draft charter, bylaws, funding mechanisms
• Develop organization with funding from Cities/Towns
• Develop public information

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Union Municipal District: Governance

Executive Director Executive Board (5-8 appointed)

10 Police Chiefs 18 Fire Chiefs 10 Rescue Chiefs

• Hire Communications Director
• Budget Vote
• Long Term Commitments with 5-8 Communities

with Dispatch

• Fees for service ($/call) with other Towns
• Pay, benefits and human resources
• Debt obligations through long term contracts with

member communities only

• Vendor Contracts

Advisory Committee w/ reps from: Regional Planning Commission

staff coordinating and contracted support

• GIS
• Finance
• Intergovernmental Coordination/Facilitation/Open meetings
• Support Advisory Committee

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Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Organizing

 Feb/March 2017 – Meet with Towns operating dispatch services  Make appointment to Joint Survey Committee

 February 2017 – Technical Advisory Committee starts meeting  March 2017 – Organize Joint Survey Committee

 March 2017 – Meet with rest of Towns to provide update  March 2017 – Begin ongoing informational meetings with dispatchers  Spring 2017 - CCRPC Bylaws approved to enable offering services to

Joint Survey Committee

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Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Development

 Spring 2017 – draft Charter for union municipal district  Summer 2017 - draft budget and assessments prepared for proposed

members (those who appoint Joint Survey Committee members) and contract fee rates for others

 Fall 2017 – obtain commitment of Joint Survey municipalities to fund part

time and/or interim Exec Director in FY 18 via contract with CCRPC

 Fall/Winter 2017 – communications to participating towns in preparation for

Town Meeting Day votes

 Winter 2017 – Joint Survey Committee hires interim Exec Director through

contract with CCRPC: find space; arrange support services; integrate of radio systems, telecom, and upgrade CAD; benefits and pay; operating procedures; plan of dispatch agency integration; redundancy and testing plans

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Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Next Steps - Decisions

 Winter 2017-2018 - Towns committed to vote on regional entity will propose

funding for dispatch services in their FY 19 budgets, in such a manner that it could go to the new regional entity (if the Town votes to join) or to retain service in house (if the Town votes not to join).

 Spring 2018 - Town Meeting votes on membership  Spring 2018 - Determine costs, assessment and onboarding plan (which municipal

dispatch centers close when) that works based on actual members

 April 2018 - Municipal members cede dispatching authority per onboarding plan  April 2018 - Begin to hire employees in a staggered manner to set up and test

systems, leave municipal ops in place but build team

 July 1, 2018+ - Agency begins providing dispatch services to at least one

communities who voted to join and continue to onboard per plan

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Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

Moving forward

 It is hoped that all Chittenden County municipalities ultimately participate in the

regional dispatch entity

 Cities and Towns that operate dispatch services  Further explore becoming members in union municipal district dispatch entity

 Appointment to the Joint Survey Committee.

 Other communities would have fees for service and representation through an

advisory committee of public safety chiefs

 Mix of funding and commitments will help keep the regional dispatch entity

focused on both service and quality

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Dispatch Consolidation Roadmap

THANK YOU! Questions?

For more information, contact:

 Charlie Baker, cbaker@ccrpcvt.org or 735-3500  Joe Colangelo, jcolangelo@shelburnevt.org or 985-5111  Aaron Frank, AFrank@colchestervt.gov or 264-5509  Lee Krohn, lkrohn@ccrpcvt.org or 861-0118 Work to date can be found at:  http://www.ccrpcvt.org/our-work/emergency-management/regional-dispatch/