In a recent meeting of the Fire and Police Commission, Leon Todd presented a report highlighting significant improvements in the performance of the Emergency Communications Center for the first quarter of 2024. Both the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) exceeded the mandatory benchmark of answering 90% of 911 calls within 15 seconds, achieving 98% and 94% respectively. This marks a notable increase from the previous year, where the departments answered only 74% and 77% of calls within the same timeframe.

The report also indicated that nearly all calls—99.8% for MPD and 99.2% for MFD—were answered within 90 seconds. However, staffing levels dipped slightly due to the transition to a new Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, although the center has added approximately 15 new call takers, bringing the total to between 140 and 150.

Todd introduced Anthony Bueno, the new Emergency Communications Director, who began his role in May. Bueno, previously a watch commander at the Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center, is tasked with overseeing the transition to a new department of emergency communications and implementing the unified CAD system. He aims to complete the first phase of this transition by the fourth quarter of 2024, which includes replacing police and fire supervisors with civilian personnel.

During the meeting, concerns were raised about the average response times for non-emergency calls, with suggestions to provide more detailed data on outlier calls that take significantly longer to answer. Alderman Speicher emphasized the importance of addressing public perceptions regarding call wait times, noting that improvements in response times should be communicated effectively to the community.

The commission expressed optimism about the future of the Emergency Communications Center under Bueno's leadership, with plans for cross-training dispatchers and call takers to enhance operational efficiency. The meeting concluded with a commitment to continue monitoring performance metrics and improving service delivery to the public.