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Mayor YAMASHIRO October 18, 2000 Page 3 With the addition of the E-911 and CAD Systems, Central Dispatch has evolved into an Emergency 911 Center. A11911 calls come into Central Dispatch In 1999, there were a total of 98,857, or 8,238 calls per month, made to 911. For the months of January through August 2000, there were a total of 81,659, or an average of 10,207 calls per month, made to 911. This ~s an increase of 24% of 911 calls per month. Many of the dispatch personnel aze committed to assisting rn providing the coverage to keep Central Dispatch operating. Due to extended pcnods of working overtime, we aze concerned that dispatchers will "bum out", suffer from fatigue, and fall ill due to lack of proper rest It is becoming increasingly difficult to cover all positions Continuous trauung, a must to prevent liability concerns, is also difficult to schedule, as dispatchers aze needed to work on a portion of the sluff preceding or following their scheduled work shift The remedy to the shortage of dispatch personnel and the lazge amount of overtime expenses incurred would be the creation and filling of lower classified positions, Police Radio Dispatcher I (PItD-I) The addition of five PRD-I's will create an avazlable pool of personnel that would be used to replace vacant P1tD-II positions that arise due to separation from service. Replacement of a PRD-I could be less burdensome due to more individuals avazlable to be hired due to lower minimum qualification requirements. In summary, we have reached a crisis situation that if not corrected soon, will cause a tremendous strain on the Department's budget, operations, and a potential officer and public safety concern. The addition of five PRD-I posrtions in Central drspatch will make a srgnificant impact on relieving the manpower shortage srtuatron and greatly reduce overtime expense and employee srck leave use. The money now berng spent on overtone could easily fund the five new posrtrons and yet strll allows available money to be used m other endeavors LB