Norwalk council hears Westcom report on 911 upgrades, staffing challenges

Chief Mento of Westcom told the Norwalk City Council on March 6 that the regional public-safety communications center completed a full upgrade of its 911 telephone system in 2024 and is preparing for further automation and translation capabilities later this year.

The presentation outlined technology and workload changes and raised staffing and facility challenges. "We upgraded the entire 911 telephone system to the latest version. Now it gives us text-to-911...we're looking forward to the next upgrade later this year, which should give us automated voice recognition and translation," Chief Mento said.

The nut of the report was Westcom's combined push on technology and workforce: it recently completed a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) software upgrade and moved police records to virtual servers hosted inside the West Des Moines complex to improve redundancy and reduce rent expenses. The agency also is nearing completion of a multiagency CAD-to-CAD interface meant to let dispatch centers in neighboring jurisdictions share units and incident information electronically rather than by telephone.

Westcom answered about 59,954 911 calls in 2024; the chief said roughly 86.6% of those calls originated from cell phones and that the center fielded 265 text-to-911 messages. He noted the center answered 98% of calls within 15 seconds, exceeding the 90% standard, and described extensive training and continuing-education hours for staff.

Council members asked about translation services, staffing and facilities. Westcom reported 34 different languages required translation services last year; Spanish accounted for roughly 75% of translated calls. The agency logged about 28,000 minutes of translation services at an estimated cost of $54,000 in 2024 and said it is pursuing AI-assisted translation options that may reduce future cost and response time.

Chief Mento acknowledged ongoing turnover: the national telecommunicator turnover rate is roughly 30%, and Westcom has experienced higher rates. The agency recently hired five new staffers and plans to implement mentors and scheduling changes, including a potential four-day work week, to improve retention.

On facilities, Mento said Westcom operates out of an underground location in a public-safety station and is reassessing whether to remain there or relocate as part of a "Westcom reimagine" campaign to improve identity, operations and efficiency. That campaign will examine expenses, vendor contracts and service delivery ahead of Westcom's 25th anniversary in 2025.

Council members thanked Westcom for the update and for inviting council members to tour the center ahead of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in April. The chief asked city officials to consider public outreach to increase awareness of services such as text-to-911 and What3Words location tools for remote incidents.

He concluded by noting Westcom would dedicate the upcoming National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week to a recently deceased 18-year veteran of the center.