News

Texas Public Safety Panel Calls for More 9-1-1 Operators

Philip Jankowski

06/03/2014

June 03--

Austin's Public Safety Commission refused to endorse budgets for the city's three main emergency response agencies Monday because none of them included new 911 operators.

The police budget drew the most concern from members of the commission. The police department identified a critical need for nine new 911 operators but did not include any new operators in the proposed budget.

"As you can gather, we are not very happy with the budget, and probably you are not either," commission chairman Kim Rossmo said.

The commission has recommended more 911 operators for four years, commissioners said. In each case, the city council did not add the jobs to the budget.

With a unanimous vote, the commission recommended the 911 center become fully staffed to meet the needs and "weaknesses exposed by the Halloween flooding" of Onion Creek. That would also include watercraft and rescue gear identified by the fire department as a critical need that was not included in its budget.

Austin police are seeking a 4.1 percent increase to the department's budget. The lion's share of the projected $12.2 million increase is to add 59 new officers to the ranks in order to maintain a long-standing ratio of two officers per 1,000 residents.

In order to hire more 911 operators, the department likely would have to reduce the number of new officers hired, Assistant Chief Brian Manley said.

Studies that have shown Austin police need even more officers than the 1,937 officers that would be authorized if the budget is approved. With that in mind, commissioner Michael Lauderdale said the 59 new officers amounted to "a line in the sand."

"We can't trade off on that," Lauderdale said.

Labor shortages at the department are contributing to the department's increasing response times, the assistant chief said.

Response times have risen steadily since 2009, when they stood at 7:07. In 2013, it took an average of 7:30 from the time a call-taker picked up a 911 call until an officer was on the scene. The department's goal is an average of seven minutes.

All three public safety budgets from Austin police, fire and Austin-Travis County EMS showed a projected increase their budgets. Higher health insurance costs and built-in pay increases were drivers of increases across the board, the presentations showed.