Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Provo dispatch seeks two additional 9‑1‑1 positions to provide secondary fire channel during peaks
Summary
Dispatch manager Heather Perkins asked the council to fund two full‑time positions (cost roughly $186,000) to staff a secondary fire radio channel at peak times, describing the consolidated dispatch center's funding model and call volumes.
Heather Perkins, manager of Provo’s consolidated 9‑1‑1 center, told the council the dispatch center handles radio channels and call processing for Provo, Orem and Linden police and for Provo and Orem fire. The center fielded 227,747 phone calls last calendar year and handled roughly 1,870 fire incidents that would have benefited from a secondary fire channel.
Perkins asked the council to fund two additional full‑time positions to ensure a dedicated secondary fire channel during peak hours; she said Orem would pay approximately half of the personnel cost under the cities’ operating agreement and estimated the total cost for the two positions at about $186,000. The dispatch center currently staffs 43.5 full‑time positions and splits remaining budget between Provo and Orem based on population and call volume metrics.
Councilors asked about the budget detail and how Orem and Linden contributions are calculated; Perkins said the remaining operating budget is split half by population and half by call volume and that she will provide the detailed pricing and budget sheet to council staff. No appropriation vote was taken at the work meeting.
