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IT network engineers and 911 dispatch staff raise alarms over proposed deletions and dispatch consolidation
Summary
TSS network staff and County Communications employees and their union representatives warned supervisors that recommended deletions and operational changes risk outages, security incidents and overwork; County Communications said it already answers 911 for unincorporated areas and is adding unfunded trainee codes to prepare for vacancies.
Employees from the county Technology Services Department (TSS) and County Communications (911 dispatch) urged supervisors to reconsider proposed cuts and to clarify operational impacts during Monday's budget workshop.
TSS network staff described the span of systems they support: roughly 24,000 users, two main data centers, five hospitals, over 3,000 network devices, 90 wide-area and Internet circuits and approximately 5,000 Wi-Fi access points. Staff and SEIU representatives warned deletions in TSS would increase outage risk, raise security exposure and leave core hospital and public-safety IT functions vulnerable.
County Communications Director Trisha Adcock told the board CountyComm already handles 911 calls for unincorporated South County and dispatches ambulances countywide; the only change with the proposed consolidation of South County fire dispatch is that CountyComm would directly dispatch county fire units instead of transferring to CAL FIRE. CountyComm officers said call volume is modest and the recommended budget adds four unfunded trainee codes to establish a hiring pipeline; the department noted recent progress reducing mandatory overtime.
Union representatives and TSS staff urged the board to review TSS organizational structure and consider alternatives to frontline cuts; supervisors asked for follow-up materials and meetings with TSS leadership and County Communications.
