The proposed consolidation of PSAPs

Franklin County has a Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) at its communications center adjacent to the Franklin County Detention Center. The PSAP handles all emergency 911 calls that are placed in the county. As directed by the Legislature, the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s Emergency Services Communication Bureau is collecting information to help its planning process as it considers consolidation of the current 26 PSAPs statewide into 15-17 facilities.

I have filed comments with the PUC and asked it to consider carefully its actions as our PSAP is vital to emergency communication in Franklin County.

Here is what I filed:

I am writing in response to the Commission’s Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on the proposed consolidation of Public Service Answering Points (PSAPs) as recommended in the report made to the PUC by Robert Kimball.

I am a Wilton selectman, active in the Franklin County Municipal Association and a member of the Franklin County Budget Committee. This issue of PSAP consolidation has caused great concern among local government officials and I offer my comments based not only upon my own reflections and research on this issue, but as part of a larger discussion among my colleagues in local and regional government.

First, I am sure that you are aware of these facts, but they are worth noting again for the record:

1. Franklin County has a Dispatch Center and PSAP co-located in Farmington (co-location is actually recommended as desirable in the Kimball Report).
2. There are eight certified staff, two of whom are on duty 24/7. In addition to certification in appropriate disciplines, they are all certified in Emergency Medical Dispatch.
3. On average, this Communications Center receives and processes some 9,300 E911 calls per year. The Center dispatches 17 fire departments, five ambulance sites (Phillips, Farmington, Rangeley, Sugarloaf Mountain and Livermore).
4. Livermore and Livermore Falls are, as you know, in Androscoggin County. In those two communities, E911 calls go first to a PSAP in that county and are then transferred to Franklin County. (By the way, anecdotal evidence from dispatchers with whom I have spoken indicates that these transfers can be made difficult when the referring dispatcher does not stay on the line to provide identifying information on the address of the caller).
5. In addition to its dispatching and PSAP responsibilities, the Franklin County Communications Center is the warrant repository for the county and, on average, has some 600 warrants on file.
6. This Communications Center serves a geographic region of some 1,600 square miles, an area that is 400 square miles larger than the State of Rhode Island.

Relocation of the Franklin County PSAP would not, in my opinion, achieve significant economic savings and, more importantly, would cause the emergency response system in Franklin County to be more prone to delay and confusion about location of the emergency, while causing the person reporting the crisis (or actually the victim of the emergency) to repeat the same demographic information as many as three times.

Further, if relocated, the 9,300 calls still need to be received, so the new location would have to “staff up” for that volume. The computer equipment at the PSAPs that are closed would need to be disposed of, with the affected counties absorbing the lost investment.

In Franklin County, the Communications Center would still remain as the Dispatch Center, necessitating the same number of staff.

It is difficult to conclude that there are any economic advantages for Franklin County or the State of Maine if the PSAP is relocated. On the other hand, the great risk to emergency response capacity and to residents of Franklin County is clear and apparent. It appears to be a tradeoff with no value.

In another part of my life, I serve as the representative of the Maine Municipal Association on the State Board of Corrections. Our charge, by law, is to create an integrated and cost-efficient corrections system for Maine. So, I am aware of the pressing need to approach statewide service delivery systems with strategic thinking while being mindful of the need to protect and retain regional services.

My experience on the SBOC has also shown me the importance of a statewide view that honors local and regional needs. In my opinion, the Franklin County PSAP is an integral part of the public safety service of Western Maine. I urge you to consider the points I have made as you deliberate and prepare your recommendations for the Utilities and Energy Committee of the Legislature.

Thank you,
Irving Faunce
Wilton