Police, City Preparing For Changes At 911 Center
Non-Emergency Calls Would Be Diverted
Updated: 8:14 am CST November 19, 2009
MADISON, Wis. -- Police and information technology officials with the city are scrambling to deal with a couple of big issues as the Dane County 911 Center moves forward with some changes.The changes could affect roughly 200,000 calls to the 911 Center and the bottom line of the Madison Police Department budget. If all goes as planned, next year 911 will start charging Madison police for dispatching city parking-related calls.A second change would have police and other city agencies handling tens of thousands of non-emergency calls as those calls get diverted out of 911 into an automated system.The 911 director said that about 40 percent of the Dane County 911 Center's current calls could be diverted, or 200,000 calls per year.Under current plans, starting in mid-January, those dialing seven-digit non-emergency numbers going into the Dane County Communications Center would longer get a live body at the other end.Instead, an "automated attendant" or computer system would direct them to a number of options. But Madison police are concerned about their calls getting to the right people.Police said they have so many areas within the department that they're now working with the city to set up a second, citywide automated system to interconnect with 911's automated system to make sure there aren't big delays."We're trying to work before this takes place so that the calls are dealt with -- when it does happen -- in a timely manner," says Capt. Carl Gloede, of the Madison Police Department and a Public Safety Communications Board member.Madison police are working with the city's information technology division now to try to get the system going soon.Meantime, police are facing a new bill of around $33,000 a year from 911.That's because the 911 Center said next year it's going to charge city police for dispatching all calls related to Madison parking violations.John Dejung, the 911 Center director, said the new charge is appropriate because such calls aren't the mission of the 911 Center."We're trying to get back to the core mission of dealing, as quick as we can, as effective and as efficiently as we can, on emergencies and things that need emergency response -- not those things that are non-emergency in nature," Dejung said.Gloede said the new bill to police would be $100,000, but late Wednesday Dejung said the cost would be closer to $33,000 per year for the Madison Police Department.The parking dispatching fee would be new. Such service has been done over the last 20 years for free, WISC-TV reported.Dejung maintained that it's not a cut in service, though, and pointed to a consultant's report last year that recommended the 911 Center refocus its energy on emergency calls.
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Previous Stories:
- November 11, 2009: 911 Call Center Deals With Frivolous Calls
- June 2, 2009: New 911 Center Chief Officially Starts
- April 30, 2009: New Leader Preparing To Take Over Embattled 911 Center
- April 1, 2009: Madison Police File Complaint With 911 Center
- March 19, 2009: Dane County Officials Announce New 911 Center Head
- March 18, 2009: Local 911 Center Moves On After Controversy
- March 12, 2009: 3 Finalists Selected For 911 Center Director
- February 17, 2009: Study: Most 911 Calls In Dane County Not Emergencies
- November 19, 2008: Board To Review Police Dispatch Protocols For 911 Center
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