City residents recently received political ads encouraging them
to reject the proposal to consolidate the San Benito County 911
Communications Center with the Santa Cruz Regional 911, prior to
the Hollister council’s consideration Monday night. The ads were
paid for by the political action committee of the Service Employees
International Union, Local 521, and they make four specific claims
that deserve examination.
City residents recently received political ads encouraging them to reject the proposal to consolidate the San Benito County 911 Communications Center with the Santa Cruz Regional 911, prior to the Hollister council’s consideration Monday night. The ads were paid for by the political action committee of the Service Employees International Union, Local 521, which can have a direct financial interest in defeating this proposal because it would lose dues if the operators change unions.
The ads make four specific claims that deserve examination.
Claim 1: The contract would give “Santa Cruz County the ability raid city coffers.”
The facts: Santa Cruz 911 is a joint powers authority that serves almost 20 public agencies. It is independent, and not part of the Santa Cruz County budget. The Santa Cruz 911 cost structure is public and much less expensive than San Benito County’s, and it cannot possibly raid Hollister’s coffers.
Claim 2: “Dispatchers 40 miles away will make life or death decisions …”
The facts: Communications are instantaneous. Decision and dispatch times are critical, and Santa Cruz 911 tracks those. Their goal for “Echo Level” responses, the highest priority medical emergency, is to have those calls fully processed – taken, evaluated and dispatched – within 90 seconds. The average time in 2010 was 54 seconds, and the process was completed in less than 90 seconds 93 percent of the time. Additionally, Santa Cruz 911 dispatchers are highly qualified and possess critical life-saving capabilities in the form of emergency medical dispatch, which this county lacks.
Claim 3: There was “no independent study” to verify the proposal.
The facts: No one has disputed any significant facts in the study. Santa Cruz 911 is a public agency that files detailed official reports. The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies accredits it, and its EMD certification has comprehensive quality assurance and corrective action programs.
Claim 4: “Create Jobs, Don’t Send Them Away.”
The facts: The county, and especially the city, must reduce the cost of the services it provides. In 2010, Santa Cruz 911 handled 305,867 calls for service on a $4.97 million budget – or a $16.24 average per call. In 2009, the last information available, San Benito County 911 handled 54,814 calls for service on a $1.63 million budget – or a $29.66 average per call. That is a 45 percent higher average cost to our taxpayers. Both agencies had their budgets reduced slightly since, but the huge cost gap remains.
Additionally, more than 30 percent of the San Benito County employees do not live in the county, and operators can apply for work in Santa Cruz. Those who live here will still spend most of their money where they live. It is true that transportation costs and travel time for local operators will go up, but a large percentage of our working population commutes.
The bottom line: Consolidation provides increased life-saving capabilities, upgraded equipment, better language capabilities, and key management and quality systems we cannot afford. Moreover, there is a big financial bonus of $200,000 annual savings for the city in a budget crisis and $60,000 annual savings for the county, both starting in year three.
This is a rare opportunity to attack the structural deficit by reducing cost without reducing services. If not this, then what? If not now, then when?
