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• FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES _3_ June 21, 2004 Recommendation for County Board re arding 800 MHz dis atch s sY tem (continued) Mayor Gehrz reviewed the PSCS/800 MHz Project PSAP option feedback form that is to be submitted to the Ramsey County Board on Tuesday, June 22, and the recommendation that she and Administrator Worthington were proposing to the full Council. She said they are recommending an interim step: Two dispatch communication centers (PSAP'S)--one urban and one suburban. Factors that led to this recommendation: Concern about the potential reduction in suburban service levels due to the discrepancy between Saint Paul and the suburbs in the ratio of dispatchers to calls; and concern about the potential cost increase to suburban cities for the additional personnel required to handle the call volume for Saint Paul. Council member Kuettel asked what Hennepin County does. Administrator Worthington said that Hennepin County has a dispatching center and all County taxpayers pay for it. Minneapolis and Hopkins have their own dispatch centers. Over time there are incentives for communities to move toward centralization. Anoka County has created a joint powers entity that is under the control of the County Manager. • Mayor Gehrz said the resolution the County Board will vote on authorizes the County Manager to negotiate with Saint Paul for a merged dispatch. Saint Paul is only 44% of the County tax base but generates 75% of all dispatch calls. There is concern about a fairness issue. Council member Lamb recommended consideration of a single site. He thinks the problems can be worked out if everyone is forced to. He said that in his career, he created and managed two call centers. He outlined several considerations: Architecture -- technology point of view. Can you route the calls to where you want them to be? The costs of multiple locations are incredibly greater than one location. Multiple centers require multiple supervisors. One central call center requires fewer supervisors. If you have a small call center with 5 dispatchers and one calls in sick, you are down 20%. If you have a position open that hasn't been filled, you are down 40%. The larger the center, the better your management practices are. You can professionally train your crew, have more experienced supervision, and have overflow capability. A central center is more efficient, more professional, more highly trained, and more flexible. Architecture -management perspective. People don't want to do it because there is distrust of the government units involved that the costs may not be fairly allocated. This is a legitimate topic that can be addressed in a shared powers agreement. Costs can be allocated according to usage. If you don't get the service you believe you should get, you can back out of the agreement and join the Maplewood PSAP or Hennepin County. You can go to India with this. Citizens deserve to have their government officials working together. • 3