Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Psap Dispatch topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City to buy new dispatch consoles, staff PSAP buildout as police dispatch merges into operations
Summary
City staff outlined a timeline to begin crime‑check calls in October, add fire dispatch in January 2027 and take full 911 call handling by January 2028; officials requested $605,000 for 20 ergonomic dispatch consoles and estimated initial hires of ~11–12 call takers and 15–18 dispatchers.
Steven, the city project lead on the PSAP transition, told the Public Safety Committee that the city expects to begin processing crime‑check calls in October, add fire dispatch in January 2027 and operate as a full public‑safety answering point (PSAP) by January 2028.
He introduced Erica McNamara, the new operations manager (started June 15), and outlined the hiring plan: an initial class of about 11–12 call takers and a later dispatcher cohort of roughly 15–18 positions.
Steven asked the committee to support a single purchase of 20 new ergonomic consoles for the operations floor to accommodate the October go‑live. The consoles, he said, cost about $605,000 including installation and a 10‑year parts and labor warranty and include training workstations; lead time is about 12 weeks. "The consoles are warrantied for 10 years, parts, labor, everything," he said, explaining the selection and the rationale for the specialized furniture.
He also reviewed the technology and training schedule: police RMS training has begun, phone‑system training and certain AI trainings start in August, and the computer‑aided‑dispatch and radio training begin in October. Steven advised the police dispatch group will move into the shared operations floor as part of the transition.
Committee members pressed for pay ranges, budget details and the differential between the console request and a separate radio capital request. Steven said pay ranges are being finalized with civil service, HR and labor; Matt Boston (finance/IT) explained the radio purchase is being modeled through the IT capital replacement fund with SIP loan options and longer‑term debt planning.
The committee did not take a final purchase vote at the meeting; staff said the console purchase and associated SBOs will proceed to the council agenda for approval next week.
