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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 04171990 - IO.6 I.O.-6 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: Costa INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE County DATE: April 9, 1990 s T'4CUU:1'fi SUBJECT: REPORT ON DISPATCHER VACANCIES AT DELTA REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS CENTER AND PLANS TO INSURE A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO THE CITY OF ANTIOCH SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOPROMATIONS 1. Accept this status report on the efforts to insure a smooth transition from DRCC to the Sheriff ' s Communications and Consolidated Fire District Communications. 2. Order the Director of Personnel to insure that all meet and confer obligations to the Fire Fighters' union have been met before taking any steps to use a fire fighter as relief dispatcher. 3 .. Request the County Administrator to report to the Internal Operations Committee as frequently as is necessary between now and the time the Sheriff withdraws from DRCC to insure that our Committee is kept fully up to date on events as they occur. 4. Request the County Administrator to prepare a report to the Internal Operations Committee which evaluates the feasibility and advisability of establishing a single advisory body charged with reviewing and providing advice and recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on all aspects of emergency communications. 5. Request the County Administrator to indicate to our Committee by June 11, 1990 when such a report can be completed and which identifies the workplan the County Administrator intends to follow in preparing such a report. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: Yes YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OT)I SIGNATURE(S): SUNNE WRIG T McPEAK T M POWERS ACTION OF BOARD ON pr i APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED A OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS - -- - I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE II, III UNANIMOUS(ABSENT �' ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Please see Page 3 . /7 /990 CC: ATTESTED PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY � `"'� DEPUTY M382 (10/88) BACKGROUND: On February 13, 1990, the Board of Supervisors approved recommendations from our Committee on the status of DRCC. Included in these recommendations was a request that the County Administrator, Director of Personnel, Sheriff-Coroner and Contra Costa County Fire Protection District prepare a report to our Committee identifying the total number of filled dispatcher positions at DRCC, the number of incumbents that are likely to transfer to the City of Antioch and the number of vacancies which will be left at DRCC. Staff was further requested to identify steps being taken to fill vacancies so that DRCC would continue to be a viable operation between July 1 , 1990 (when Antioch' s dispatching becomes effective) and February 1, 1991 (the date Consolidated Fire will be prepared to assume responsibility for all East County fire dispatching) . On April 9, 1990 our Committee met with representatives from the County Administrator' s office, Personnel Department and several fire agencies as well as the City of Antioch. DRCC currently has 14 filled dispatcher positions. In addition to the dispatcher positions, DRCC operates with 5 part-time call takers, two of whom can function as dispatchers. The City of Antioch will not complete its hiring until about the middle of April. As a result it is not possible to absolutely indicate how many dispatcher personnel will leave DRCC to go to work for the City of Antioch, but it appears that as many as six of the current 14 personnel will be offered jobs by the City of Antioch. Although the Antioch dispatch operation is not expected to begin until July 1, 1990, the City will be hiring its dispatcher staff around the middle of May. The most likely starting date with the City of Antioch is now projected to be May 11, 1990. Thus the DRCC staffing shortages will occur before July 1, 1990. It may even be that some dispatchers will resign early, knowing that they have a new job with the City of Antioch beginning in mid-May. In an effort to mitigate the impacts of the expected staffing shortage the following steps have been taken or are under way to provide additional personnel resources for the DRCC operation: The Sheriff ' s Office has three dispatcher positions assigned to the Martinez Detention Facility who will be assigned to the dispatch function and backfilled with Sheriff' s specialists. The Sheriff ' s Office recently hired four new dispatchers, two of whom are experienced. The Personnel Department is developing a list of former Sheriff ' s Communications employees to be contacted for part-time or temporary dispatch work. At least one East County fire fighter with dispatch experience may be asked to work part-time at DRCC. The County will attempt to recruit any individuals who applied for the City of Antioch 'positions but were not hired by Antioch. The County will discuss with the City of Antioch the possibility of delaying their hiring of any current DRCC employees. -3- After July 1, 1990 , the County hopes ; to rely on short-term backup assistance from the City of Antioch by former DRCC employees who have been hired by the City, assuming the City is willing to provide such backup. The Sheriff ' s Office wants to move the police dispatch function for the Sheriff ' s East County operations back to Martinez as soon as possible. The Sheriff ' s Office believes that this presents the best opportunity to maintain police dispatch services for all concerned entities. In the case of fire dispatch, it is being proposed that four of the remaining DRCC dispatchers be left at DRCC to dispatch to East County fire agencies. This will require backup from the fire districts and, after July 1, 1990 , the City of Antioch. The precise timing of this proposed move is not known at this time because of logistical issues related to the purchase and/or installation of equipment and the uncertainties about the staffing losses to the City of Antioch. The City has informed the County that it plans to hire its dispatchers effective May 11, 1990. If the City meets that target date, this plan will have to be implemented on the same date. The plan may have to be implemented even sooner if some of the current dispatcher staff resign prior to beginning work for the City. The anticipated personnel losses due to the City' s hiring of our dispatcher staff definitely present some serious problems in continuing the DRCC operation. However, based on the spirit of cooperation among all parties involved, it is anticipated that the communications services for all parties involved will be maintained even though DRCC will be operating under less than desirable circumstances for a limited period of time. The Emergency Medical Care Committee has also brought to the attention of our Committee that no one agency or advisory body in the County has overall responsibility for overseeing all forms of emergency communications. We are therefore asking the County Administrator to undertake a study to identify all of these agencies and determine what can and needs to be done to better plan for and coordinate all emergency communications in the County. cc: County Administrator Sheriff-Coroner Chiefs, Consolidated, Riverview, Byron, East Diablo, Oakley and Bethel Island Fire Protection Districts. City Managers, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood Police Chiefs, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood Director of General Services Director of Personnel Health Services Director Regional Ambulance