Nine new communicators need to be hired now for the Dane County 911 Center, according to a consultant hired to study staffing levels.
Travis Miller of Matrix Consulting Group presented his findings to the County Board Thursday night.
He says the extra staff would help reduce overtime for call takers and dispatchers. Experts have argued that communicators who work too much are prone to mistakes and burnout.
"This is generally a well-run center," Miller says. "People should be confident that when they call, phones are being answered. And they're being answered quickly."
Still, Miller is concerned about the management and oversight of the call center. His review of those areas is still ongoing. He'll present his findings in a few months. Nonetheless, in response to questions from members of the County Board, Miller explained that the 911 center needs a better "decision making tree" and more consistent policies for call handling.
"This is not a business that should be excessively open to interpretation," he says.
His remarks come as county leaders review another mishandled call . On Monday, neighbors of Lake Edge Park in Madison called to report noise and then increasing noise in the park. Police were not dispatched, which is against new protocols that some dispatchers call confusing. Officers were later sent to the park for an unresponsive man. The man was beaten to death by another man as part of a fight over a woman.
Miller began his work this summer, part of the response to the mishandled call from the cell phone of Madison murder victim Brittany Zimmermann . Miller did not address either case in his comments.
County Executive Kathleen Falk has proposed six new communicators in her 2009 county budget proposal. County Board Chairman Scott McDonell has authored a budget amendment to add three additional communicators for a total of nine. Falk has not said whether she supports McDonell's proposal. If the proposal passes, the 911 center will have 71 communicators, 12 more than were employed when Zimmermann was killed.
Miller says there are enough communicators per shift to handle current call volumes, but more are needed to cover vacation and sick leave to avoid excessive overtime for the others.
A report on the internal review of the latest botched call is to be released Friday.
