City to move communications and jail operations to three-city regional center
The Colleyville City Council has approved an agreement to facilitate regionalization of the city's 9-1-1 communications services and jail operations through a partnership with the cities of Keller and Southlake. Since 2007, those cities have successfully partnered to provide these services through a "regional" communications center and jail complex located in Keller. To view the City Council discussion of this issue, click here to access the webcast of the meeting and click on Item 7A.
The move becomes effective October 1, 2010. The 9-1-1 call response will remain the same. For non-emergency calls, residents can continue to call the current non-emergency number-817.281.3132. As of October 1, a new non-emergency number will go into effect; that number is 817.743.4522. While callers are encouraged to use the new number after October 1, both numbers will continue to be in effect.
Will a 9-1-1 call to police or fire through a regional center mean a slower response time?
A 9-1-1 caller will notice no difference in their service. While the location of the communications specialist (dispatcher) will change, calls will be seamless and service levels will remain the same. The response time of Colleyville police, who will still be stationed within Colleyville's city limits, will not be affected. In addition, since Colleyville shares a contiguous border with Keller and Southlake, regionalization would allow dispatchers to send police and fire personnel from other cities, if they are closer, to calls near the city's borders. This could result in faster response times for police and fire services, as the other agencies could provide emergency assistance until the primary city agency arrives on the scene.
How is a regional center more effective and efficient than a Colleyville-based center?
There are several advantages to a regional center; the foremost reason is to reduce redundancy in our public safety efforts. By operating a single regional center we can increase our efficiencies and, in fact, increase the number of communications specialists available for calls. The increased staffing at the regional center allows Colleyville to have a dedicated fire communications specialist, who will be assigned specifically to the Colleyville Fire Department in the event of an emergency.
Regarding jail operations, it is true that prisoners will be transported to Keller for detention, which means more travel time. However, even with increased travel time, the decrease in processing prisoners and manning jail operations will result in more police time spent on patrol in Colleyville and in proactive community police activities.
If Colleyville 9-1-1 calls are to be handled in another city, who has the oversight to ensure that Colleyville calls remain a top priority?
Performance measures have been agreed upon jointly by all three cities and monthly reports will be provided to each agency. The police and fire chiefs from all departments will be joint decision makers regarding operations, protocol, and standards. Keller police administration will handle day-to-day personnel matters.
Why is this change being suggested?
The choice for regionalization is the result of a cost-benefit and feasibility analysis conducted by the staff leadership from the Colleyville police and fire departments. During the past few years, regionalization of these aspects of public safety has become more common among small and mid-sized cities. The scope of the research included a review of the annual number of calls for service for our police and fire departments, availability and compatibility of regional partners, effect on current operations, and an analysis of current jail operations as these would be affected by the removal of dispatch personnel. (Currently police communications specialists are tasked with monitoring the jail population and assisting with jail paperwork.)
An analysis of Colleyville dispatch and jail workloads concluded that the combined workload does not solely justify a stand-alone operation, if a suitable partner can be identified that offers the same or enhanced levels of serve and cost avoidance through the elimination of a jail operation.
Has this been done before-is there a precedent for this type of consolidation?
The Keller/Southlake dispatch and jail center has been jointly operating since 2007. Police and fire calls for service are handled for both cities from Keller's dispatch center, and both cities utilize the Keller jail to book and house prisoners.
According to officials in Southlake, they have been extremely satisfied with the regional operation and believe it enhances the level of police and fire service for their citizens, while allowing them to operate more efficiently, both operationally and fiscally.
Why partner with Keller and Southlake?
These cities are already operating a successful regional center so Colleyville we will be entering into partnership with a regional center that has a proven, successful track record.
Colleyville shares similar demographics with these cities and the same commitment to a high level of customer service. In addition, Colleyville, Keller, and Southlake currently utilize the same records management systems, standards of service, and dispatch protocol-so the logistics of the arrangement make sense.
What are the advantages of this system? What are the disadvantages?
The advantages of regionalization include:
- Improved public safety services
- Increased exposure to other departments, enhancing interdepartmental cooperation
- Reduction in operational redundancy
- Less time handling prisoners, resulting in increased time in the community
- Better utilization of building and technical resources
- Increased training time for employees
- Cost savings and cost avoidance
- Sufficient staffing for a dedicated fire dispatcher
- Improved sharing of police and fire data
- Improved compliance with national standards
The disadvantages of regionalization include:
- Loss of Colleyville employees
How does the new dispatcher (communications specialist) ratio compare to the current system?
Colleyville currently has eight full-time positions: one supervisor, six communications specialists, and one vacancy. The regional center will operate with 21 total positions: one manager, one supervisor, two shift supervisors, and 17 dispatchers.
Colleyville currently operates with two dispatchers on each shift. The regional center will have four dispatchers and one supervisor on each shift.
The Colleyville portion of the communications component of the regional center will equate to 16% of the total workload, while Keller and Southlake would be responsible for 42% each.
How will jail operations work at this center? Won't it mean Colleyville officers are out of the city more-transporting prisoners?
The regional center will have six full-time jailers and one supervisor. It will average a daily prisoner population of nine prisoners, with capacity for up to 14.
Colleyville officers currently expend approximately 2,400 hours a year booking and checking on prisoners at the Colleyville jail, equivalent to 1.14 officers annually. Under the regional concept, jailers will book and care for prisoners so Colleyville officers would only encumber about 800 hours (0.38 officers a year) transporting prisoners to Keller.
The Colleyville portion of the jail activity will be 24% of the total workload with Keller and Southlake encumbering 48% and 28%, respectively. Removal of the jail from the Colleyville Justice Center will manifest as cost avoidance due to the loss of prisoner care responsibilities.
What if the costs of this shared operation go up?
The estimated savings for the first year would be approximately $115,482; however, there are some one-time equipment and configuration costs (approximately $30,000) as the addition of Colleyville to the regional center requires adding an additional communications console in the dispatch center. It is recommended that future costs be determined on a three-year average of the dispatch and jail workloads for each of the three cities.
What will happen to the communications specialists who currently work in Colleyville?
At least four Colleyville employees will be transferred to the Keller facility. Any opening(s) prior to the proposed Oct. 1 transition date will be filled with a Colleyville communication specialist(s). All employees of the regional center are city of Keller employees.
In addition, the police leadership has arranged for Colleyville communications specialists to receive preference for openings in many other area police departments.
What is the timeline for the change?
The transition date is October 1, 2010. The initial contract is for six years, coinciding with the Southlake agreement. In 2016, upon expiration of the initial six-year term, there will be an option for two additional five-year terms. The contract includes an option for exiting the regional center upon a 24-month written notification. Keller will make annual notifications to Colleyville regarding the estimated costs for the upcoming budget year by May 30, and no more than 5% can be added to that estimate prior to Oct. 1, in any given budget year.