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Council Communication

Title:	Update on Potential Consolidation of the Ashland Police Department 911/Dispatch Center
Dept:	Police
Date:	July 2, 2002
Submitted By:	Scott Fleuter, Chief of Police
Reviewed By: ........................	Greg Scoles, City Administrator

Synopsis:	The 2001 Oregon State Legislature passed HB397. A major focus of the legislation is to facilitate consolidation of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPS) in multi-PSAP counties. The bill requires multi-PSAP counties to jointly submit a consolidation plan to Oregon Emergency Management (OEM) by September 1, 2002. There are three PSAP's in Jackson County including the Ashland Police Department, Medford Police Department, and Southern Oregon Regional Communications. Each center receives a certain amount of State funding from the 911 tax. The 2001 Legislature expressed their intent that after 2003 such State tax revenues will only be used to support one PSAP in each county. In addition, over the past several years, the Ashland Police Department 911/Dispatch has seen a steady increase in the calls for service from the public. The Center is currently staffed with a minimum of one dispatcher. As this workload increases, there will be a need to add more dispatchers in the future.
Recommendation:	At this time, staff does not have the information available to determine whether outsourcing is the best alternative. It may also be premature to make such a move when it is unclear which 911/dispatch center will receive the 911 tax dollars for Jackson County. Staff recommends that the City Council authorize staff to continue evaluation of the feasibility of outsourcing versus maintaining a center at the Ashland Police Department.
Fiscal Impact:	The Ashland Police Department currently receives about $86,000 annually in State revenue from the 911 tax that can be used for any 911 related costs. OEM also pays for PSAP maintenance costs at around $42,000 per year. It appears that the new law would only allow that funding to be used for one primary PSAP for all of Jackson County. There are two "fiscal" scenarios to take into consideration. The first would be to absorb all those costs and continue to operate the current Ashland Police Department PSAP/Dispatch Center (eventually adding staff to adequately maintain minimum staffing). The second would be to have another PSAP/dispatch center provide communication services for Ashland and compare those costs to the current PSAP/Dispatch Center budget. The other two 911/Dispatch centers have each submitted proposals to provide services for the City of Ashland (proposals attached). Also attached is a comparison of salaries and benefits between the three centers. The last attachment is a staff analysis of each of the proposals including overall costs, service levels, technology, governance, and facilities.
Background:	Seven dispatchers and one supervisor staff the Ashland Police Department 911/Dispatch Center. Service is provided seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Because the Ashland Police 911/Dispatch Center is relatively small (the smallest of the three in Jackson County), it is staffed with from one to two dispatchers depending on workload, vacation, training, sick leave, etc. Normally, there is only one dispatcher on duty about 50% of the time. The Center provides service for Ashland Police, Ashland Fire/Rescue, Ashland Ambulance, SOU Security, and after hour's Public Works. SOU contributes about $55,000 for dispatch services. Because there is often only one dispatcher on duty, attempts have been made to increase resources by inviting Talent PD, Phoenix PD, and Fire District Five to use Ashland's center versus SORC. Adding their financial resources would have allowed a minimum of two dispatchers on duty at all times and the costs would have been lower for those three agencies. To date, this has not been politically viable. Now that there is a mandate to develop a consolidation plan, it would benefit the City of Ashland to explore all possibilities. Listed below are several issues or concerns that tend to either support consolidation, or make a case for retaining a 911/Dispatch Center at the Ashland Police Department. As activity increases, one dispatcher is inadequate to provide service to Ashland. There are seven City employees whose jobs may be at stake if another center is used. Consolidation would likely include the opportunity for many of those employees to be hired by that center. When considering personnel costs with the attached benefits, training, equipment, etc., there would likely be a cost savings contracting with another center. Both Medford and SORC claim they can provide service and each would hire at least five of our dispatchers. The Ashland center currently uses "field staff" to provide breaks and back-up for the dispatchers. This reduces field staffing (Patrol Officers) and places someone with limited training in the dispatch center. If Ashland does not receive the State revenues and chooses to run a full-service 911/Dispatch Center, there would be a need to absorb the extra costs and still be dealing with understaffing issues. If Ashland absorbs those 911 costs, it would include some costs related to maintaining the 911 lines. If another center provides services, it would impact monitoring the level of service to Ashland's citizens. Medford contracts with Central Point and SORC maintains a user board with about 18 voting members. The Ashland Police Department recently received a federal grant for installing Mobile Data Computers in police vehicles. Medford has purchased the interface for MDC's and they (as well as Central Point PD) are already using the technology in the field. The other two centers would have to pay a certain amount to Medford for activating MDC's. By contracting with another center, the vacated office space could be used for future growth of the Ashland Police Department. There are other issues to take into account when considering consolidation of 911/Dispatch Centers. Ashland would still have to maintain radio towers and support the Computer Aided Dispatch/Records Management System (CAD/RMS). Ashland dispatchers provide some clerical support and there would likely be a need to retain one FTE to handle the workload and liaison with the providing center. If there ended up being only one center for the whole county, there is the issue of an emergency back up center. Both SORC and MPD have plans for a back up center if they become the sole 911/Dispatch Center. All three centers have competent personnel and quality equipment. The Ashland Center is already capable of handling the expansion of its staff. SORC has adequate room at their facility and, with some remodeling, may be able to house all Jackson County 911/dispatch services. Medford has just enough space to accommodate our needs and they are building a new center that could potentially provide space for all 911/dispatch services in Jackson County. Both SORC and Medford currently occupy buildings that are poorly rated for withstanding an earthquake, which is problematic for essential emergency services. Consolidating with Medford or SORC would lower Ashland's 911/Dispatch costs. Medford also has two significant advantages. They already have the Mobile Data Computers up and running and Ashland could piggyback on their technology while using the MDC grant to cover other hardware and software costs. Also, both Medford and Ashland are covered under PERS (SORC is not PERS). That means Ashland employees could transition over without effect on retirement and seniority. All three centers are part of the same bargaining unit and Medford and SORC provide a higher salary than Ashland. Please refer to the attachments for details.

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MEMORANDUM

TO: Greg Scoles, City Administrator
FROM: Scott Fleuter, Chief of Police
SUBJECT: Staff Analysis of 911/Dispatch Proposals
DATE: June 24, 2002

The Medford Police Department (Medford 911 Central Communications Center) and Southern Oregon Regional Communications (SORC) have submitted proposals for providing 911/dispatch services to the City of Ashland. The following analysis includes an examination of each of those proposals as well as an assessment of what resources would be required for the Ashland Police Department to continue providing 911/dispatch services.

MEDFORD 911 CENTRAL COMMUNICATIONS CENTER (CCOM)

CCOM is a primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that provides 911 and dispatch service for the Medford Police Department, Medford Fire Department and the Central Point Police Department. They are located at the Medford Police Department. They have expressed an interest in providing 911/dispatch services for the City of Ashland. They propose to provide the following services:

• Answering point for all Ashland PSAP calls, non-emergency phones, and after hours utility phones
• Full-time dispatch service to Ashland Police, and Ashland Fire/Rescue (SOU Security would have a separate contract).

Cost Considerations: (Figures based on estimate of 26% increase in workload to CCOM)

Additional CCOM staff required to provide services to Ashland: One (1) dispatcher position, 24 hrs X 365 days = 8,760 hrs. One full-time dispatcher works 1,824 hrs per year = 4.8 full-time employees.

Other Considerations:

• CCOM participates in PERS which would allow APD dispatchers to transfer over without impacting their retirement benefits
• Teamsters represent CCOM and APD so Ashland dispatchers would maintain their seniority, vacation time, etc.
• Medford would hire five of our seven dispatchers
• APD Officers would not have to provide breaks for dispatch thus leaving resources on the "street"
• Medford PD would manage our warrant files 24 hours a day
• Medford PD already has infrastructure in place for Mobile Data Computers which would reduce our costs
• The City of Ashland would contract with CCOM for services similar to how Central Point currently contracts with CCOM
• CCOM's current facility is adequate to expand services to Ashland. They are in the process of planning a new facility (in part, due to a poor "earthquake rating" for their building) and there would be no additional costs passed on to the City of Ashland for the facility.

SOUTHERN OREGON REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS (SORC)

SORC is a primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that provides 911 and dispatch services to 25 jurisdictions including Jackson County, Talent, Phoenix and a number of fire districts. They are located in Medford at the old Jackson County Court House building. They have expressed an interest in providing 911/dispatch services for the City of Ashland. They propose to provide the following services:

• Answering point for all Ashland PSAP calls, non-emergency phones, and after hours utilities
• Full-time dispatch service to Ashland Police, and Ashland Fire/Rescue (SOU Security would have a separate contract)

Cost Considerations: (Figures based on SORC funding formula)

SORC would hire five (5) Ashland dispatchers and install one new call-taker console. Ashland would be included in the SORC funding formula and be a voting member on the Council.

The user rate formula is based on 50% usage (from the previous calendar year) and 50% assessed value of each jurisdiction. There are two exceptions: 1) agencies with very low usage are assessed a minimum fee; and 2) agencies without a tax base, such as Mercy Flights, are assessed based on their usage only.

Other Considerations:

• SORC does not participate in PERS so APD dispatchers would not be able to continue in that retirement system. SORC does have a retirement plan based on deferred compensation.
• Teamsters represent SORC and APD so Ashland dispatchers would maintain their seniority, vacation time, etc.
• SORC would hire five of the seven dispatchers
• APD Officers would not have to provide breaks for dispatch thus leaving resources on the "street"
• Jackson County Sheriff's Office would manage the City's warrant files 24 hours a day
• SORC does not currently provide service for Mobile Data Computers but could purchase access to such service through Medford PD. The cost to SORC to purchase access is unclear at this time.
• The City of Ashland would serve on a Users Council, along with 18 other jurisdictions, which provides governance over SORC. Each member has an equal vote.
• The current SORC facility has plenty of space to accommodate Ashland. Due to the poor "earthquake" rating of their building, they may be considering a new facility in the future and would pass those costs along to their users.

MAINTAINING 911/DISPATCH SERVICE AT THE ASHLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT 911 CENTER

The Ashland Police Department currently has a primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that provides 911 and dispatch service for the City of Ashland. The Center is located within the Ashland Police Department building. There are seven full-time dispatchers, one dispatch supervisor and one part-time call-taker. The two major issues facing the Center is a need to increase staffing to maintain service levels and the State law that will remove 911 tax dollars used to support the Center.

Cost Considerations:

The current APD communications budget (fiscal year 2001-2002) is $850,915. The proposed 2002-2003 budget is $727,371. The differences are primarily due to internal projects that vary from year to year but the main portion of the budget consists of personnel related costs.

The center is staffed with one dispatcher, about 50% of the time. In order to maintain an acceptable level of service in the future, there should be two dispatchers on duty at all times. This would require a minimum of two additional dispatch positions at a total cost of aprox. $112,000.

Based on the language of the recent State legislation, Ashland would lose $86,000 of 911 dollars and an additional $42,000 in 911 maintenance dollars (the $42,000 is not incorporated into the Ashland communication's annual budget. If the decision were made to retain the 911 center, there would be some maintenance cost involved).

Southern Oregon University pays Ashland $55,000 per year for security dispatch service. If either SORC or CCOM were used, SOU would negotiate with those centers. At this time, it appears that each center could provide service to SOU at a lower cost. Any difference would have to be considered in the total budget.

The above figures do not take into account administrative costs for the Chief of Police, Support Lieutenant, and Administrative Services Manager.

The proposals from SORC and CCOM do not include the CAD/RMS contract or any retained personnel. The current Communications budget includes CAD/RMS costs at $139,000. Since Ashland dispatchers perform a certain about of records work for the Department, one FTE would need to be retained at approx. $60,000.

SUMMARY OF ESTIMATED COSTS FOR 911/DISPATCH SERVICES

Central Communications Center (CCOM/Medford Police Department)

Southern Oregon Regional Communications (SORC)

(If Ashland utilizes either CCOM or SORC, the $55,000 paid by SOU would be removed from the City of Ashland general fund)

Ashland Police Department Communications Center

* Estimate (exact figures unavailable at this time)

CONCLUSION

If it were as simple as saving money, outsourcing would clearly be the preferred alternative. I believe that the level of service would, in the long run, be about the same regardless of which center provides the service. However, if two more dispatchers are not added to the Ashland center, it is likely service would be better with another center in that there would be multiple dispatchers on duty at any given time, and APD officers would not be taken off of the street to relieve dispatchers

At this point, the State intends to go through with the mandatory PSAP consolidation and all 911 dollars will go to one center per county. The confusing part is that it's not clear what SORC or CCOM will do if only one of them ends up with all the 911 dollars. They have not shown any inclination to combine their resources and it appears that they both would like to be the primary PSAP for Jackson County. Currently, there is no way of predicting which agency will receive the funding.

For example, if Ashland contracts with Medford and the State gives all the 911 dollars to SORC, Medford would be out their 911 dollars, Central Point's 911 dollars, and Ashland's 911 dollars (over $500,000). SORC would then be the primary PSAP for the County and all 911 calls would be routed to them. Medford would keep their dispatch center and have SORC transfer 911 calls for Medford, Ashland and Central Point. Although not having 911 at the Medford Center may reduce the workload, the reality is that 911 calls are a fraction of the total calls for service. Thus, such a financial hit to Medford may result in Ashland having to pay more for 911/dispatch services. The same scenario applies if Ashland commits to SORC and the 911 dollars go to Medford.

Staff anticipates three options for the City Council: 1) maintain the 911/Dispatch Center at APD; 2) outsource with one of the other centers in advance of the potential county-wide consolidation; or 3) wait to see which center is awarded the 911 dollars by the State and then move to that center.

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Summary Table

		Ashland Today	Ashland Tomorrow	Medford Solution	SORC Solution
Requirements:
Operational costs	1	$ 727,371	$ 727,371	$ 337,210	$ 318,142
911 Maintenance	2		30,000
Additonal Staff	3		112,000
Retained Staff	4			60,000	60,000
CAD/RMS	5			139,000	139,000
Gross Cost		727,371	869,371	536,210	517,142
Revenues:
Ashland 911 Funds	6	(86,000)		(86,000)	(86,000)
SOU Participation	7	(55,000)	(55,000)
Net Cost		$ 586,371	$ 814,371	$ 450,210	$ 431,142
Notes:
1	Current program expense or contract expense if out-sourced.
2	Additonal cost to maintain Ashland PSAP.
3	Additonal 2.0 FTE to provide service level comparable to out-sourced proposals.
4	Ashland 1.0 FTE included in operational costs that is retained if PSAP out-sourced.
5	Ashland expenses included in operational costs that are retained if PSAP outsourced.
6	Current state revenue that would be lost if Ashland did not consolidate.
7	Current revenue that may be lost with consolidation.

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