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We’ve talked for years in this community about whether combining the city and the county 911 operations makes sense. It does.
The separate but adjoining emergency dispatch centers for Allen County and the city of Fort Wayne often get cited as an example of duplicative services that cost our taxpayers additional money and probably don’t provide for the best public safety possible for our residents. If we say we want to make government more efficient, more responsive and more effective, this is a prime place to walk that walk.
Now is the time to stop talking and start doing. The Allen County commissioners and I have agreed to take the next steps in the process of figuring out how to combine the operations. The plan on the table for review eliminates eight positions (not people), allows for a more balanced workload for dispatchers, creates better officer safety on dispatch radio channels and is an effective and efficient utilization of all employees. It moves 12 positions from the county to the city so the sheriff’s budget will realize a cost savings of more than $500,000 a year. Most importantly, it reduces transfer and rollover calls.
Rollover calls occur when there is a brief spike in incoming 911 calls, utilizing several incoming lines at once. For instance, when a car accident or a house fire occurs, typically several passers-by will call 911 to report it from cell phones.
Currently any time an officer requests help, the dispatcher must call the other dispatch center to request any nearby officers. This relay calling takes precious time and can volley until units are patched together or sent to a tactical channel. When all dispatchers are in one room, officers dispatched by the same dispatchers will eliminate the phone game and potential loss of valuable response time.
Talk of combining city and county communications departments has gone on for too long without any action. We now have the opportunity to create real change for the benefit of our residents and public safety employees.
With the recent passage of legislation mandating that we consolidate by 2014, this is the right time to plan for how to serve the citizens of Fort Wayne and Allen County by providing unsurpassed public safety and committed stewardship of their tax dollars.
