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Yahoo
05-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Stanislaus County board members debate 911 call transfers, slower response times
Stanislaus County leaders held a discussion Tuesday about call transfer times as they sorted through an ongoing controversy over emergency dispatch services. Supervisors said they want to see vetted cost figures soon for a Sheriff's Office proposal to partner with the Ceres dispatch center for 911 calls in the unincorporated areas and the contract cities of Riverbank, Hughson, Patterson and Waterford. 'Time is of the essence,' Supervisor Terry Withrow said, adding that the board needs vetted cost figures from the Sheriff's Office by Feb. 25. The other choice, supported by the Stanislaus Regional 911 governing board, is implementing a CentralSquare computer-assisted dispatch system and maintaining the 25-year-old joint powers authority that has operated dispatch service for the Sheriff's Office, Modesto police, fire departments, County Fire and the Probation Department. Sheriff Jeff Dirkse wants his department to leave the JPA and use an Oracle CAD system in an expanded Ceres dispatch center. Stanislaus Regional 911 has an average call processing time of 47 seconds and has to make a transfer to another center for an emergency medical service (EMS) call, which adds 34 seconds, staff said. Critics of the sheriff's proposal said the Ceres dispatch center would need one call transfer for dispatching fire units through SR-911 and two time-consuming transfers for an ambulance response. According to standards, each transfer requires an additional step in which dispatch personnel ask the caller's name, phone number and nature of the emergency. SR-911 Executive Director Kasey Young said the transfer creates the potential for a dropped call, caller frustration and getting confusing information from the caller in a dire emergency. Those medical calls may be for emergencies including a heart attack, choking, stroke, childbirth or a pedestrian struck by a car. During the meeting, SR-911 staff played recordings of actual emergency dispatches that required transferred calls. County Fire Warden Erik Klevmyr, who's also director of county emergency services, said he supports consolidation of dispatch services. 'I have not met a fire chief who would support a deliberate increase to response times,' Klevmyr said. SR-911 has a Feb. 19 deadline to complete configuration of the CentralSquare CAD system and plans readiness testing in July, before activating the system for 911 calls on Sept. 15. Dirkse's proposal could expand the Ceres center and implement the Oracle system in six to 12 months, the sheriff said last week. Supervisor Channce Condit said a memo from a Ceres dispatch supervisor indicated there's only one transfer for an EMS incident handled by that center. The transfer to fire dispatch and ambulance service is done simultaneously, the memo said. Condit, a former Ceres councilman, was on the council when the Ceres dispatch center partnered with Newman police. Young said Stanislaus Regional 911 is exploring consolidation of EMS dispatch with the regional center, which would eliminate call transfers. Dirkse told supervisors that multi-agency dispatch centers are unusual in California. Most counties have law enforcement-only dispatch centers, typically operated by sheriff's departments. Withrow said that unfortunately, the conversation became about competing CAD systems, but the goal should be keeping the JPA together. 'Staying together is the most efficient way to provide service,' Withrow said. 'The technology won't outweigh the benefits of a consolidated 911 service.' Withrow said one option may be to use the CentralSquare CAD for awhile and then pivot to another software program if there are problems.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stanislaus County leaders take next step to explore dispatch partnership with Ceres police
Stanislaus County leaders voted 3-2 Tuesday to further explore a plan for the Sheriff's Department and Ceres police to partner in a 911 dispatch center. Some supervisors feared the action is premature and will signal the county is leaving the 25-year joint powers authority with Modesto that operates Stanislaus Regional 911. But comments at Tuesday's meeting of four and a half hours suggest that marriage is on the rocks. County leaders said they want vetted numbers on the start-up costs of an agreement with Ceres, which has a dispatch center, and the savings from using a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system that was jointly developed by Oracle and the Sheriff's Department. Supervisor Vito Chiesa said he wants, as early as next week, clarification on a time delay as the Oracle system transfers calls for incidents in the sheriff's contract cities: Riverbank, Hughson, Patterson and Waterford. The supervisor said he heard the required transfer could add between five and 90 seconds to a fire service or emergency medical service response. Board Chairman Buck Condit said he needed to find out how Riverbank Police Services and fire districts would be affected by a switch to a sheriff and Ceres dispatch center. Supervisors Channce Condit, Terry Withrow and Mani Grewal supported the motion to take the next step and seriously explore the plan with Ceres. Buck Condit and Chiesa voted no. The Sheriff's Department and the four contract cities could pull away from Stanislaus Regional 911. The center on Oakdale Road would continue emergency dispatches for Modesto and most fire districts in the county. Withrow expressed concern the county may look like it's leaving the JPA and miss a chance of mending ties with Modesto. It then would be left with no options if the numbers don't support a deal with Ceres. During the meeting, Sheriff Jeff Dirkse and his staff sang the praises of the Oracle system and gave unfavorable reviews of a CentralSquare CAD approved last year to replace the antiquated system at the Regional 911 center. Dirkse, an elected sheriff, said he intends to leave the JPA but also stressed he started working with Oracle on a CAD after Modesto indicated in 2021 it was withdrawing from Stanislaus Regional. Sheriff's Department staff said the Oracle system combines dispatch with a records management and jail management system. The jail management software will expedite bookings and help with tracking more than 1,400 inmates, their gang affiliations and prisoners who may need special protection. Stanislaus Regional's current antiquated system often requires deputies to wait several minutes for information before approaching a car. Investigators may need to open 13 different modules to find records. Brandon Kirkbride of the Stanislaus Sworn Deputies Association said Ceres has been waiting for a commitment from county leadership on a dispatch partnership. 'We are sick and tired of the systems we have,' Kirkbride said. 'They are garbage.' The deal with Oracle would give the county free use of the system for five years, an estimated cost savings of $8.25 million. Channce Condit said the eye-popping savings figures justified exploring the plan further and confirming the numbers. Supervisor Mani Grewal said the reputed cost-savings should be vetted. The Oracle company is a renowned technology leader, but it's newly developed CAD is mostly untested. Grewal noted that CentralSquare is serving thousands of municipalities, according to its website. Oracle is serving four. Daniel Phillips, president of the labor association representing dispatchers, said he was 'underwhelmed' when he tried the Oracle CAD, and none of union-represented dispatchers who tried it supported the system. Sheriff's Capt. Tori Hughes countered that the dispatchers tried the CAD before a configuration had taken place. The county considers leaving Stanislaus Regional 911 after years of reported dysfunction among the agencies involved. The CentralSquare system acquired for Stanislaus Regional 911 came under criticism, as some agencies have expressed dissatisfaction. Turlock, which is using CentralSquare, is now taking a look at the Ceres partnership. Ceres officials, who attended the Tuesday's meeting, said the city's first-year costs for a joint dispatch center are $6 million including salaries. The Sheriff's Department presentation estimated a one-time cost of $1.3 million for Ceres. A start-up cost figure of $4.5 million was also mentioned by a Ceres official. County supervisors said they want to see firm estimates and negotiated cost-sharing numbers, and said there's no guarantee yet the county will partner with Ceres.
