Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Finding a balance E-911 millage aims to improve emergency communications

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2004 18:15:32 -0400

Finding a balance E-911 millage aims to improve emergency communications

By Nick Schirripa
The Enquirer

The biggest money question before area voters in Tuesday's primary
election has to do with providing a more
reliable communication system for Calhoun County's emergency workers.

Voters will have to balance the $84 million cost of a consolidated
county dispatch center with a desire for
hundreds of police, firefighters and other emergency staff to have a
more sure-fire way to communicate -- and
thus improve their safety and their service to the public.

The county's millage request asks for a maximum of 1.48 mills each year
for 15 years to build, equip and
operate the consolidated dispatch center.

A levy of 1.48 mills equates to about $74 in taxes per year for the
owner of a $100,000 house.
For Dan Strowbridge, a county commissioner and a lieutenant in the
Albion Public Safety Department, testing
on the current VHF system used by dispatchers showed a powerful reason
to seek a newer system using 800
megahertz portable radios.

"The testing showed a failure rate of 32 percent (in tests conducted
around the county outside of Battle Creek).
That means 32 percent of the time when someone is talking to dispatch,
the dispatch can't hear it,"
Strowbridge said. "Sometimes it's just a matter of repeating the
transmission for the dispatcher, but what if the
officer is in imminent danger or what if it's a firefighter in a burning
house? There may not be the time or
opportunity to repeat what was said."

While Strowbridge and many other officials and groups back the proposal
for a new dispatch center that would
consolidate separate dispatch operations now in Albion, Marshall and
Battle Creek, at least parts of the plan
have drawn some critics.

Their concerns are about the choice of location for the new center, type
of equipment and what will happen to
the public money that will no longer be needed to support the separate
dispatch operations if the millage
passes.

Some of the opposition has come in the form of a formal letter of
opposition from the Albion Police Officers
Association, which cited discrepancies in construction costs, equipment
effectiveness and control of the
proposed consolidated dispatch center.

But Robert Muladore, the county E-911 communications coordinator, said
he has had overwhelming support in
the county among elected and public safety leaders as well as taxpayers.

"The bottom line for the E-911 board is taxpayers have to get what's
best for them," Muladore said. "It's
frustrating when you have a few people in the whole county, and they
make it sound like they're speaking for a
large group."
Muladore said the millage has received formal support from 55 different
organizations in the county, including
neighborhood organizations, public safety agencies, business
associations and local governments representing
constituents.

THE PROPOSAL'S DETAILS
The proposal would consolidate the dispatch functions serving about 30
police, fire and ambulance agencies
countywide into a single operations center.

The county has created the Calhoun 911 Authority to oversee the
consolidated dispatch center operations, and
the proposed location is on Old 27 North, next to the Calhoun
Intermediate School District and just north of
Marshall.
Equipment currently used by dispatchers and safety officials will be
changed from the VHF system to an 800
megahertz system using the state's communication infrastructure.

As it stands now, the dispatch centers in Albion, Battle Creek and
Marshall employ 29 dispatchers and have
operating budgets totaling about $2.3 million. That compares with a
proposed operating expense of $3.3 million
for the consolidated dispatch center's first year and an estimated
operating budget of nearly $5 million in its
15th year, or the last year of the requested millage.

Battle Creek currently has 21 dispatchers and Albion has four. Marshall
has four full-time workers and one
part-time worker devoted to dispatching. Muladore said the new dispatch
center will have about 30 dispatchers,
and current dispatchers in Battle Creek, Marshall and Albion will be
given priority in staffing the new center.

MONEY QUESTIONS

If the millage request is approved, funding for dispatch operations will
be shifted to all county taxpayers, and
Albion, Battle Creek and Marshall will no longer have to pay for their
separate operations. That's prompted
questions about how that freed-up money will be used.

Albion spends about $150,000 each year for its dispatchers, Strowbridge
said. One dispatcher likely will be
retained with the Albion department, but it's up to the city to
determine where the money goes.
Albion laid off four officers in 2003, he said, and there may be more
layoffs in the future unless the money goes
back into the department.

Marshall Public Safety Director Mike Olson said he hopes to retain at
least two positions for administrative
duties, walk-in traffic and community issues.

Olson said about $100,000 of Marshall's current $150,000 dispatch budget
will go back into the city's general
fund.

"Many people have asked me what that money will be used for," he said.
"I think that's a fair question, but
that's an issue for the city council and administration."

Battle Creek City Manager Wayne Wiley said the city will save about $1.3
million if the millage passes, and
the City Commission will have to decide where that money will go.

"There's a good possibility we could put some of that back in the
taxpayers' pocket by increasing the personal
exemption on the income tax," Wiley said. "Some might go to general
operating revenue, but I would expect
some of it would go back to the taxpayers."

Battle Creek Vice Mayor Tony Walker said discussions among city
commissioners have been very broad.
"We've talked about it but not in much detail," he said. "At this point,
there's no clear plan that I'm aware of
about what to do with that money."

DECADES-OLD IDEA

Consolidating the county's numerous dispatch operations is an idea that
dates back three decades, and
funding has been an issue from the beginning.
The Area Metropolitan Services Agency was created with the cities of
Battle Creek and Springfield and the
townships of Bedford, Emmett, Pennfield, Leroy and Newton about 30 years
ago.
The county is not an AMSA participant, but Battle Creek performs county
dispatch services in exchange for 30
beds at the county jail.

About 10 years ago, AMSA was expanded and consolidated all dispatch
operations except for Marshall and
Albion public safety departments.

Strowbridge said a handful of townships, including Bedford, Pennfield
and Emmett, as well as Battle Creek and
Springfield, pay annual membership fees to AMSA for Battle Creek
dispatch services.
All other townships pay no membership fees but get the service anyway,
Strowbridge said.
"This inequity in funding is the catalyst that really got this whole
thing started," he said.

He said an option was entertained to raise the county's 911 telephone
surcharge from 4 percent to the statutory maximum of 20 percent, but
that
posed its own set of challenges.

A surcharge increase would have to be approved by voters before it could
be implemented, Strowbridge said. Another issue is that the state
legislation allowing the surcharge will expire in 2006 and there is no
guarantee it will be renewed.

"I really didn't want a millage at first," he said. "Whatever we did, it
would have to be approved by the voters anyway."
Purcell said the county board passed a resolution recently supporting
different options if the surcharge is renewed by the state legislature
in 2006.
The county can choose to continue to participate in the surcharge
program and roll back property tax millage proportionate to surcharge
revenue,
Purcell said, or pay off the construction bonds early, effectively
reducing the millage for the remainder of the 15-year life of the
millage.
"The intent here is to avoid double-dipping," Purcell said. "The millage
is sufficient to cover the capital and operational costs, but if we have
the
surcharge as well, we shouldn't be taking more than we need from
taxpayers."

EQUIPMENT

County officials have maintained the current VHF system and
corresponding equipment are outdated and flawed.
Muladore said 5,910 tests were conducted countywide. According to the
data, the VHF portable radio, which is what the county currently uses,
was tested 1,989 times and failed to make a connection 485 times, a
failure rate of 18 percent. These "dead spots" mean there is no
communication for the officer or firefighter in the field.

The 800 MHz portable radio was tested 2,212 times and failed 133 times,
or 6 percent.

Along with the new 800 MHz system, county officials said the VHF system
will receive some upgrades and remain in use with fire departments for
alerting and paging capabilities.

Opponents have raised concerns about using the 800 MHz system to
communicate between departments.

"Everybody can be on a different talk group, and there is no end to the
number of talk groups you can have. But you have no way to patch two
talk
groups together," said James D. Keyser, a 23-year employee with the
Calhoun County Central Communication.
Muladore said a talk group is the equivalent of a channel on the current
system, and many are available on the 800 MHz system.
In order to communicate with other talk groups, safety officials will
have to manually change channels on the 800 MHz radio.
Keyser said there is no scanning ability on 800 MHz like there is in
VHF, which prevents officials from keeping in tune with what's going on
all over
the county.

Amateur scanner listeners can purchase equipment to listen to police
calls, Muladore said, but some agencies may use a scrambled signal that
scanners won't be able to monitor.

Despite having some concerns about the E-911 proposal, Keyser said the
800 MHz system is a better radio system as far as clarity, reception and

range.

"The system really is amazing," he said. "Is the new equipment needed?
Absolutely. The radios and computer systems we have now work, but it
can be improved."

Going to the 800 MHz radio system will connect the county to the
Michigan Public Service Communication System used by the Michigan State
Police, something that was recommended in a study completed in early
2001 by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center
Northeast, a National Institute of Justice program.

The report also recommended the county upgrade software to provide
services such as computer-aided dispatch, records management, mobile
data
and automated vehicle location.

Strowbridge noted that Eaton, Hillsdale, Branch and Barry counties all
have taxpayer-funded consolidated dispatch centers, and Kalamazoo County

is in the process of consolidating.

Muladore said putting the 800 MHz system in place will allow for more
communication among different kinds of departments, such as state and
federal agencies.

The project includes technology upgrades that will help dispatchers
locate cell phone users dialing 911, something that doesn't always
happen
today.

Muladore explained the technology upgrade will bring the county into
compliance with a Federal Communications Commission-mandated program.
According to Michigan State Police, the FCC-mandated technology upgrades
have to be completed by Dec. 31 for counties to qualify for state
funding for equipment upgrades.

Most of the counties in the state already have made the necessary
upgrades, Muladore said.
"Tracking cell calls is critical," he said. "If a person is driving
through the county and isn't familiar with their location, or a farmer
is on a tractor in his
field and something happens, even if they can't talk, it will pinpoint
them within a matter of a few feet."

LOCATION
Another issue raised by opponents is the location of the proposed
consolidated dispatch center.

County officials decided to include a new building on about five acres
along Old 27 North near Marshall even though the city of Battle Creek
offered
to renovate and donate part of Fire Station No. 1 at 195 E. Michigan
Ave., to be used as the new dispatch center. The fire station is
adjacent to
Calhoun County's justice complex in downtown Battle Creek.

County officials rejected the offer, saying the location of the new
dispatch center had to be neutral.
With an estimated cost of about $2 million -- a total cost of about $3
million after figuring interest based on county figures -- the county
opted for a
new building instead.
Strowbridge said the offer made to the E-911 board included the entire
Battle Creek Fire Station No. 1, not just a portion of it, but funding
for
renovations was an offer made about two months after the E-911 board
declined the fire station.

The county also considered the former judicial chambers in the county
building in Marshall but decided against that because, county officials
said,
the politics of location is as important as the cost of the new
building.

"It was rejected because each of the police and fire agencies said the
consolidated dispatch center needed to be in a neutral location,"
Purcell said.
"Otherwise, we wouldn't have the support we needed. We wouldn't have
gotten everybody to the table and this plan wouldn't have come
together."
"I can't tell you how many people have told me if it goes in Battle
Creek, they're going to vote 'no,' " Olson said.

The decision to locate just outside of Marshall goes back to the county
decision to build the justice complex in Battle Creek in the early 1990s
after
indicating it would be built in Marshall, according to Purcell, and the
decision to build was based on logistics and study results, as well as
the
political concerns.

"It's not just Battle Creek and Marshall," Muladore said. "There were
two independent studies done before I got here (by Elert & Associates,
from
Stillwater, Minn., and KV Associates of Lansing) and they both said the
location should be neutral."
Battle Creek's population is about seven times greater than that of
Marshall, the Calhoun County seat.

Keyser said it doesn't matter where the dispatch center is from a
functional standpoint and the taxpayer isn't going to play into the
politics of the
location.

County officials said they are sensitive to taxpayers' concerns about
additional money to build a new dispatch center, and point to the grants

they've obtained and other funds they are trying to secure to offset the
cost.

According to Muladore, the county already has received $126,000 from
Homeland Security grants, he said, and a $750,000 grant from all 18 fire

departments in the county.

The proposed consolidated center also will serve as one of two county
emergency operations centers, county officials said.
Strowbridge said the county's two emergency centers now are located in
Battle Creek, one at the Battle Creek police department on North
Division
Street and the other at the county's justice complex, about 100 yards
away on East Michigan Avenue.

By moving the justice complex operations center to the new dispatch
center, he explained, the county will decrease the chances that both
centers
are disabled in an emergency situation, such as a power outage, severe
weather, a terrorist attack or any other catastrophic event.
Although that has never happened, county officials said they want to be
sure they decrease the likelihood of both emergency operations centers
being disabled simultaneously.

Nick Schirripa covers Calhoun County and Marshall. He can be reached at
966-0692 or [email-masked]

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/news/stories/20040801/localnews/959386.html

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