Cayuga County 9‑1‑1 officials report bare‑bones staffing, system failures as legislature approves camera and software contracts

Cayuga County 9‑1‑1 officials told the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee that staffing has fallen to roughly 16 full‑time employees, that an unanticipated video‑camera and communications failure required an immediate purchase, and that the center is moving to adopt AI‑enabled phone transcription and translation.

“Over the course of the last 2 days, we've interviewed, I think, 11 candidates. We've got 1 more on Thursday,” 9‑1‑1 staff member Denise Prieto said, adding, “we're gonna be at 16 full time employees, which puts us in pretty bare bones.”

The committee approved five 9‑1‑1‑related resolutions (JP1–JP5) after discussion about how emergency grant dollars will be used and whether the county’s fund balance will be tapped temporarily to pay vendor invoices before state reimbursement arrives.

Why it matters: 9‑1‑1 staffing and system reliability directly affect emergency response. Committee members pressed staff about backup‑center readiness, repeated power losses at a backup site, and how grant accounting works when unplanned repairs arise.

Details from the meeting

Staffing and staffing pipeline: Denise said the county recently lost another full‑time employee and is conducting interviews to fill vacancies. She credited a county health recruitment program with increasing applicant interest.

AI, new phone system and translation: Denise described a grant‑funded phone system that will transcribe caller and dispatcher audio and provide two‑way translation for up to about 50 languages. She said the system will reduce reliance on third‑party interpretation services.

Coverage gaps and antennas: The 9‑1‑1 report noted dead spots in the county radio system, with specific antenna problems at Ovid and Aurelius. Denise said the vendor who usually services the antennas is ill, and staff are seeking a replacement vendor to repair or replace the antennas.

Backup center status and equipment damage: Committee members asked about the county’s backup center (discussed as the Owosco/Owasco site in the report) and whether it is fully equipped. Denise said the backup location has limited equipment and that laptops have arrived but vendor‑supplied software/hardware from Motorola — required to make the backup fully functional — has not yet arrived. A separate discussion confirmed a recent power or transformer failure at the existing backup center caused equipment damage; Denise said some units were undergoing decontamination and troubleshooting to determine whether power supplies or other failures caused the problem.

Grant funding, fund balance and the JP1 camera purchase: JP1 authorized camera purchases for tower sites; Denise said the camera system had failed and that IT helped secure vendor quotes. The cameras are described as grant reimbursable, but committee members pressed staff about the timing and mechanics of reimbursement. Budget director Lynn (last name not specified in the record) said that while the grant revenue was already budgeted, the specific unanticipated expense was not, so the county must front the cost and then claim reimbursement from the grant. Lynn said, “the fund balance will not be reimbursed,” explaining the county will apply the vendor expense against previously budgeted grant revenue rather than returning funds to the general fund balance.

Other approved resolutions for 9‑1‑1

- JP2: Create three health‑program positions and abolish three dispatch positions (personnel reclassification); approved by the committee.

- JP3: Fill a vacant ESD position (a cleanup following a self‑demotion); approved.

- JP4: Renew an annual HVAC maintenance agreement for tower sites; approved.

- JP5: Enter a five‑year contract with Motorola for CAD/mobile software; approved. Staff said the software contracts have moved into the IT budget and that the contract required county approval.

Committee guidance and next steps

Members asked for a clearer, written explanation from the budget office showing how the vendor payments, grant reimbursements and fund‑balance adjustments will flow. Several legislators urged making a backup‑center solution (Auburn Fire site was discussed as the intended alternate) a continuing priority to avoid a single point of radio or power failure. Denise and other staff said they would work with the budget director and IT to provide follow‑up information to the full legislature’s Ways and Means committee.

Ending: The committee approved JP1–JP5 and forwarded the measures as required; members said they will seek additional budget director clarification at Ways and Means.