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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
DEPARTMENT BUDGET SUMMARY
MISSION STATEMENT: To help save lives,
protect property and provide assistance to the public by receiving and
processing 9-1-1 emergency calls and non-emergency calls; dispatching Police,
Fire, and Emergency Medical Service units in a prompt, efficient, courteous,
and professional manner.
FY 2004
PRIORITIES: The FY 2004
priorities of the Emergency Communications Center are:
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To recruit and retain qualified professional Public
Safety Emergency Communications personnel and provide appropriate qualified staffing
so that the Emergency Communications Center can meet the increasing
requirements and expectations of the Police Department, the Fire Department and
the residents of Arlington County.
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To maintain aging critical communications and computer
systems so as to preserve their reliability and performance to meet increases
in workload demand.
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To continue to work toward the relocation of the ECC to
the Police/Courts building plus the upgrade of the general county radio system
in FY 2005.
PRINCIPAL PROGRAMS: The principal program
of the Emergency Communications Center is:
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9-1-1 and Public Safety Emergency Communications.
Significant budget changes: The FY 2004 proposed budget for the
Emergency Communication Center is $4,666,902.
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The increase in personal services of $100,543 reflects
an increase to fund step increases and an adjustment in credit for turnover
based upon full staffing and the anticipated improvement in employee retention.
-
Non-personal services decrease a total of $29,957
primarily due to savings in maintenance of public safety mobile and portable
radios ($28,575) replaced in FY 2003.
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FY 2004 revenue increases a net of $45,787 due to
additional Enhanced 9-1-1 tax revenue based upon a projected increase in
taxable telephone lines.
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DEPARTMENT FINANCIAL
SUMMARY
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FY 2002
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FY 2003
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FY 2004
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% Change:
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Actual
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Adopted
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Proposed
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'03 to '04
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Personnel
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$2,832,129
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$3,106,256
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$3,206,799
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3%
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Non-Personnel
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1,325,084
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1,490,060
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1,460,103
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-2%
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Total Expenditures
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4,157,213
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4,596,316
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4,666,902
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2%
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|
|
|
|
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Fees
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4,027,795
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3,824,096
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3,869,883
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1%
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Grants
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-
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-
|
-
|
-
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Total Revenues
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4,027,795
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3,824,096
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3,869,883
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1%
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|
|
|
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Net Tax Support
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$129,418
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$772,220
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$797,019
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3%
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Authorized FTEs
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51.5
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51.5
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51.5
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Frozen FTEs
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-
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-
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-
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Funded FTEs
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51.5
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51.5
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51.5
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PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
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FY
2001
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FY
2002
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FY
2003
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FY
2004
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FY
2004
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Actual
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Actual
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Estimate
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Estimate
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Target
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Mission Outcome Measures
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9-1-1, emergency and non-emergency calls
received
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522,866
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535,339
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545,000
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549,000
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549,000
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Police and Fire/EMS calls for service
dispatched
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131,217
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128,000
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129,000
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129,500
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129,500
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Average emergency call answer time in seconds
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-
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5
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Less than 5
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Less than 5
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Less than 5
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Workload Measures
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|
|
|
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9-1-1 calls received processed
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129,408
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138,153
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140,000
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142,000
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142,000
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Non-emergency calls received/processed
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393,458
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397,186
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405,000
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407,000
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407,000
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ECC handled calls for service
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20,138
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20,300
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20,400
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21,000
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21,000
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Police/Fire/ECC radio transmissions
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4,930,000
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4,960,600
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4,980,000
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4,990,000
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4,990,000
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Emergency Communications
Center handled calls are calls received and handled by Emergency Communications
Center personnel who provide the services to the citizens immediately by
telephone, negating the need to dispatch Police or Fire units.
FUTURE BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS:
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The relocation of the Emergency Communications Center
to the Police/Courts building and upgrade of the County's 800 MHz public safety
radio system to appropriate technology will be completed in FY 2005. Future operating costs will be estimated for
inclusion in the FY 2005 proposed budget.
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The ECC continues to work with Human Resources to
develop and implement strategies to address the historical staffing problem on
multiple levels from initial recruitment through career completion. The addition of a meaningful career ladder
for Emergency Communications Technician positions is of vital importance along
with other methods necessary to attract, employ, train and retain qualified
professional Public Safety Emergency Communicators. There will be costs associated with such implementations,
although those costs are unknown at this time.
It is intended that implementation of career ladder enhancements will be
carried out in a phased manner over multiple fiscal years to promote
career-long development and growth.
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Additional staffing may be required in the future to
meet Emergency Communications Center service obligations. However, until the Emergency Communications
Center staffing levels stabilize and the ECC operates for a period of time with
such stability, requirements in terms of FTEs remain unknown.
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