/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
In a first step toward consolidating and improving Emergency Dispatch Services (EDS) at the Snowflake-Taylor Police Department (STPD), the Snowflake Town Council voted to combine their dispatch services with the Show Low Police Department (SLPD) at the Feb. 5 meeting.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Lieutenant Robert Martin with STPD noted in his presentation, “One of the most sought after, and understandably, assumed capabilities of an emergency services dispatcher is to provide medical assistance over the phone in what is called “emergency medical dispatching.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Due to insufficient staffing, the STPD dispatch center is not capable of performing emergency medical dispatching as it requires two dispatchers on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Currently, STPD is paying $269,514 annually for five full-time dispatchers and a dispatch supervisor.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Martin continued, “In order for us to accomplish this we would have to hire four additional full-time dispatchers for a total of nine full-time dispatchers and a dispatch supervisor.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
The cost for STPD to staff an emergency medical dispatching capable dispatch center just on employee salary and benefits alone would be more than $470,000 plus training expenses. Whereas, if STPD consolidated their dispatch center with Show Low’s, the cost would be on a “per call for service” fee of $36, with an average of 8,500 calls in a year for a total estimated cost of approximately $300,000 per year and the emergency medical dispatching capabilities would be part of that package.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
The cost of $36 per call includes updated equipment, training budgets for the dispatchers as well as a dispatcher assigned to law enforcement for SLPD and one for fire and emergency calls for the TSFD and the ability to provide emergency medical dispatching for any caller.
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
If the STPD does go with the Show Low dispatch, SLPD would look at hiring three of the STPD full-time dispatchers, should they choose to accept. Martin said, “We would still maintain an office staff member that would maintain the lobby from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Overall, this provides us with an opportunity to increase the capacity of our police department by sharing those resources with Pinetop-Lakeside who are already consolidated with SLPD.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Martin noted, “The call volume might be larger but it is spread out to give more adequate and more distinguished one-on-one kind of attention to our services. Right now, in the current STPD dispatch we step on each other for radio traffic. It is all bombarded on one person who has to figure how to get it out to everyone.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Martin went on to share the greater vision being offered by the consolidation. “SLPD is looking to hire an IT (internet technology) director to maintain the entire system for all agencies involved. Currently, it can take as long to dispatch a call as it takes to get there. This would reduce the time it takes us to respond. It would be a regional response with more manpower to deal with the calls.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Councilman Kerry Ballard said, “We have been asked if we wanted to join the Navajo County dispatch.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
To which Martin replied, “Our computer-aided design system is the same one used by Show Low, Pinetop, Apache County and even St. Johns. Navajo County does not use the same system so we would have to purchase upwards of a $300,000 system in order to be able to communicate with them. The county has no people involved in the SLPD system. Right now it will just be us, Pinetop and Show Low.”
/wp:paragraph
wp:paragraph
Town Manager Brian Richards said the town service committee met regarding the consolidation and voted in favor of it. “The Town of Taylor will have this on their agenda for consideration as well.”
/wp:paragraph
