If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?

That’s the issue the Oxford Village Council is currently trying to decide.

Last week, council listened to presentations regarding police dispatch services from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and the Oxford Village Police Department (for the latter, see story “Village dispatcher center offers ‘intangibles’ in addition to handling calls).

Council is considering the idea of contracting with county as a potential cost-saving measure.

The proposed village dispatch center budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which begins July 1, is $338,300.

The sheriff’s office proposed to provide police dispatch services to the village at a prorated cost of $23,246 for July 1 through March 31, 2017 and $31,115 for April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018.

Village officials invited the sheriff’s office to make a presentation.

“Quantitatively, I can tell you that our product is consistent,” said Mel Maier, the sheriff’s chief of communications. “We have a high level of satisfaction in every community we’re in.”

Who does county dispatch serve?

The sheriff’s office currently provides 9-1-1 emergency dispatch services to 29 townships, villages and cities throughout the county and is in the process of adding the City of Auburn Hills to the list in July.

Of the current communities, 20 receive police, fire and EMS dispatch services and seven receive fire and EMS dispatch services. Of the remaining two, one community contracts for police and EMS dispatch services, while the other just receives police dispatch. When the county takes over Auburn Hills, it will be handling police, fire and EMS dispatch.

County also provides dispatch services for Oakland Community College and Oakland County Animal Control.

The sheriff’s office has been dispatching all the police calls in Oxford Township (outside the village) since 2000.

In April 2014, the county began dispatching all fire and EMS calls in both the township and village.

Maier noted 31 sheriff’s employees live in the township and village, and four county dispatchers reside in the village. “We are connected to your village, too,” he said.

Tons of calls

Last year, the county dispatch center received 519,277 calls. Of these, 247,816 were 9-1-1 calls and 271,461 were non-emergency calls. The center dispatched public safety personnel to 292,131 incidents.

In 2015, the sheriff’s office brought Text-to-911 service to Oakland County. As a result, dispatchers are able to receive text messages sent to 9-1-1 and communicate back and forth with the sender.

Dispatchers handled a total of 1,015 texting sessions last year. Of those 178 were actual calls, but unfortunately, 805 were false calls and 32 were tests.

Maier said the service is perfect for emergency situations where the caller is hearing-impaired or unable to speak. He noted a young man with a hearing problem used the service to text county dispatch after he and his mother were involved in a crash.

Currently, the sheriff’s office is the only agency in the state that utilizes Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD) and Emergency Police Dispatch (EPD) protocols for its calls.

Each involves dispatchers asking callers a standardized set of questions about their emergency situation and staying on the line with them in order to provide instructions prior to the arrival of public safety personnel.

Last year, the county handled 21,714 EMD calls; 2,658 EFD calls and 37,809 EPD calls.

According to Maier, the county’s customer service quality rating for all three protocols was 99 percent.

“That means that were actually being polite,” he said. “We’re doing everything we need to do on the calls. We’re not making them worse. We’re not making the situation worse. We’re helping the callers.”

“I wish it could have been 100 (percent). I couldn’t get it last year,” Maier noted.

The cost is the cost – no extra charges

The county Board of Commissioners sets dispatch rates for three-year periods and they remain locked-in during that time. “The costs are fixed,” Maier said. “They don’t change.”

When the time comes to set new rates, they don’t go up dramatically. The average increase over a 20-year period has been 2.28 percent, according to Maier.

Maier stressed there are no additional costs to the contract price. If the number of police calls in the village increases, the cost remains the same. If the village has a special event that requires a dedicated dispatcher, there’s no extra charge.

He also noted that should the village choose to contract for country dispatch, the sheriff’s office would absorb any and all transition costs associated with making the switch.

“We do that successfully many, many times,” Maier said.

If the county experiences cost increases due to overtime pay, insurance or a renegotiated union contract, the village’s contract price would not increase during the fixed three-year period. “That does not affect you,” Maier said. “The costs that are set are set.”

Staffing levels

County dispatch is staffed by 79 people including Maier, an administrative assistant, two quality assurance supervisors, two warrant clerks, two part-time clerks, five command sergeants, five dispatch shift leaders and 61 dispatchers.

The number of dispatchers assigned to each shift varies – day shift has 14, afternoon shift has 14 and midnight shift has 12. Each includes a shift leader, who serves as supervisor.

The county also has what’s called a “power shift” from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

As part of this special shift, two additional dispatchers are brought in to answer calls during peak times, Maier explained. Within the next six weeks, he plans to add another two dispatchers to the power shift.

On the phone and on the radio

The county dispatch center utilizes the call-taker/radio operator model.

Dedicated call-takers answer the phones and obtain information from callers such as name, address, phone number and the nature of the emergency. They send this information via the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to dedicated radio operators who dispatch the appropriate first-responders to the scene. Information from the call-taker is sent in real time, so there’s no delay.

“This allows us to keep our focus on the caller,” Maier told council. “We have hands-free intercom so that the radio operator can ask questions back and forth to the call-taker.”

All of the county’s dispatchers are cross-trained to work as call-takers and radio operators, so they can fulfill either role depending on the needs of the shift.

During the day and afternoon shifts, there are seven call-takers and seven radio operators working. On midnights, there are five call-takers and seven radio operators.

During the eight-hour power shift, there are currently two extra call-takers.

Maier believes there are times when the call-taker/radio operator model is better than having a single dispatcher, who answers calls, obtains the necessary information and contacts emergency first-responders via the radio.

“The disadvantage with a single dispatcher doing all of the work really happens when you have multiple calls,” he explained. “I think (the single dispatcher model is) really fast when you have one call . . . It’s very quick because it’s the same person. No question.

“But when you get two calls going on at the same time, three calls going on at the same time, you can’t divide your time up between three different calls, plus (deal with) all the responders.”

A $50,000 incentive, but it won’t last

Patricia Coates, a representative from Oakland County’s Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System (CLEMIS), which is completely separate from the sheriff’s office, informed council members there is a financial incentive available to the village if they “contract with someone else” for dispatch services, but they have to act fast.

“For the last couple of years, we have offered $50,000 to the community that is having their 9-1-1 center go away,” she explained.

Coates said the county recognizes there are costs involved with making such big changes and this money is available for “whatever you want to use it for.”

However, the county is going to begin phasing out this incentive program this year.

“And we expect by next year . . . that it will go away altogether,” Coates said.

Coates noted, “You don’t need to contract with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department to get that (money).”

As long as Oxford closes its 9-1-1 center and contracts with another agency, it’s eligible.

“CLEMIS is nondenominational, for lack of a better word,” Coates said.