County supervisors’ 3-2 vote in favor of contract follows
council’s OK
After more than two hours of discussion, the board of
supervisors went along with the Hollister City Council, agreeing to
move emergency dispatch service to a Santa Cruz-based center.
In a 3-2 vote Tuesday, with supervisors Robert Rivas and Jaime
De La Cruz dissenting, the board will move its center, which
currently employs 14.75 full-time equivalent positions, to Santa
Cruz Regional 911. The board approved the move, in the works for
nearly a year, in hopes of saving the county money.
County supervisors’ 3-2 vote in favor of contract follows council’s OK
After more than two hours of discussion, the board of supervisors went along with the Hollister City Council, agreeing to move emergency dispatch service to a Santa Cruz-based center.
In a 3-2 vote Tuesday, with supervisors Robert Rivas and Jaime De La Cruz dissenting, the board will move its center, which currently employs 14.75 full-time equivalent positions, to Santa Cruz Regional 911. The board approved the move, in the works for nearly a year, in hopes of saving the county money.
In a study done by the county and the new dispatch center, the county is expected to save more than $90,000 after the first two years when upfront costs will deter the savings. The city is expected to save more than $260,000 after the first two years.
Supervisors struggled with the decision, and some expressed being handcuffed by the city.
“I don’t think we could sustain the center without the partnership with the city,” Supervisor Margie Barrios said.
Barrios hoped to have another conversation with the city about the plans, but the city council approved the move earlier in June.
Supervisors De La Cruz and Rivas wanted another study or more research on other options, they said.
“We haven’t fully investigated all of the options,” Rivas said. “I can’t support this until all of the options are explored.”
Supervisor Anthony Botelho thought the savings were too important. If the change wasn’t made, the department would need to lay off at least five more employees to balance the cost.
“There is a lot of cost savings here,” Botelho said.
Despite the savings, a majority of those who spoke in front of the board were against the consolidation, including Valerie Macedo, who identified herself as a community member. There were six people in all who spoke during public comment, such as representatives for Service Employees International Union and Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Carmel, along with Hollister Councilman Robert Scattini.
“I don’t want our 911 dispatch services to be outsourced,” she said, reading from a prepared statement. “If this happens, I think I feel our security and safety will be threatened.”
Dispatcher Jonell Casada said it was myth that the change would bring a higher level of service.
“There is a reference to a higher level of service – it’s mentioned repeatedly,” she said. “So I ask you, who better to answer your 911 calls but your neighbor, your sister, your daughter or your friend? We take calls from our family, our friends. Some of you board members have called 911, and we’ve answered those calls as well. ”
She continued: “We dispatch and work with our sisters, our friends, our husbands, and nobody puts a higher level of service on their safety and their community than we do at this center.”
Opponents in recent weeks have cited a loss of service knowledge and local jobs as reasons not to go ahead with the consolidation.
Supporters have argued that technology will allow dispatchers who are unfamiliar with the area to still inform emergency responders, and current county dispatchers will be offered jobs in Santa Cruz. Other benefits include offering emergency medical dispatch, which would allow dispatchers to give medical instructions over the phone before emergency personnel arrive on scene, according to the staff report.
But opponents don’t necessarily buy the argument there will be savings.
“And if it isn’t going to be a cost savings, I’m going to be upset,” Casada said. “If it’s not going to save this county any money, why do it? The level of service is there.”
Casada told the board the center would still continue its high level of service, even if cuts took away employees.
“I will do as much as I can to maintain the high level of service,” she said. “We will figure that out.”
Members of the county’s staff – beside the five supervisors – thought the change was necessary.
“The definition of insanity is doing things the same way and expecting different results,” County Administrative Officer Rich Inman said. “We can’t do that anymore. We need to look at new ways of doing things. And that’s not just in this case, but in all cases.”
Reading a report from the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury, Inman said the dispatch service is something the county simply couldn’t maintain any longer.
“Claim to local control seems to be a luxury rather than necessity. And it’s a luxury that municipalities may find they simply cannot afford to retain,” Inman read. “The grand jury encourages cities to work quickly and cooperatively to achieve the consolidation that will provide better emergency response service to the citizens of Santa Cruz County.”
He continued, “I think there are similarities there.”
County Management Analyst Margie Riopel, who managed the dispatcher center for 10 years, said it is hard to argue with the benefits of the move.
“I was a little reluctant at first,” she said. “I know that operation and the dedication and commitment that staff has. But I was faced with the dilemma that this made really good sense.”