There have been some recent public concerns on social media and in the News-Gazette about the staffing shortages at the METCAD dispatch center. From the News-Gazette "My Turn" article:
METCAD needs 33 full-time dispatchers to be fully functional. It currently has only 17.
These 17 dispatchers are being forced to work an unsafe and excessive number of hours. Already, the number of dispatchers available in the 911 center on each shift has decreased to below what is needed to perform their essential tasks.
That full article here. At this morning's METCAD Policy Board meeting, METCAD Director Ralph Caldwell, Jr. acknowledged the accuracy of the staff shortage, but denied that it was impacting the functionality of the dispatch center. WCIA had coverage of this morning's meeting here.
More on that meeting below. But first, a quick explanation for those unfamiliar with our local dispatch system...
What is METCAD?
METCAD is our countywide dispatch center for emergency services, including 911 calls. It is an intergovernmental collaboration. From a previous Cheat Sheet post description, which appears to still be fairly accurate after all these years:
Champaign County's METCAD system handles calls for 25 Fire Departments including Champaign and Urbana Fire Departments as part of its emergency dispatch services. This is on top of their services to 12 area police departments. It's an impressive collaborative agency with employees of the City of Champaign, an Urbana location, in a County building, and U of I phone systems. Its board has administrative and public safety representatives from local governments, the University of Illinois and rural representatives of police and fire departments.
I'll need to double check the total departments served at my next METCAD tour. The website currently appears to list 10 police and 23 fire departments as opposed to 12 and 25 respectively.
October 3rd, 2024 Meeting:
In the weeks before this month's meeting, a local citizens group, describing it as the concerned spouses and family members of METCAD employees, had made public appeals to address the staffing shortage. It shared a list of concerns and criticisms of the current administration, including some claims disputed by the administration. An example from brief WAND coverage last week:
Concerned METCAD Spouses reached out to WAND News regarding the dispatch staffing levels. The group, which is made up of spouses, significant others, and immediate family members of dispatchers, says that staffing levels are at a crisis point with only 17 out of a possible 33 full time telecommunicators employed.
However, METCAD leadership said that number isn't totally accurate...
According to Caldwell, there are currently 10 telecommunicators in training with 6 substitutes, 4 nonbargaining unit members, and 3 traveling telecommunicators in addition to the 17 full time employees.
That full blurb here. WCIA had a longer article and video segment, which included a bit more explanation on the supplemental:
[METCAD Director Ralph Caldwell, Jr.] said dispatchers are being asked to work 12-hour days. They’re filling in the gaps however they can.
“We reinstituted our sub program, so we have six people who previously worked here full time, left and then came back to work part time,” Caldwell said
METCAD Operations Manager, Betsy Smith, said supervisors are also helping with calls. To be fully staffed they would need 33 dispatchers. Smith said the long hours make it tough to keep workers, and many dispatchers see their job as a stepping stone to their preferred career, like becoming a first responder.
That full article here. The meeting itself started promptly at 8:30am at the ILEAS Training Center in Urbana (agenda). The September meeting minutes were approved and will likely be up on the METCAD Policy Board meeting documents page here soon.
Public Participation:
Family members of METCAD dispatchers criticized the administration and described the work environment as toxic. They pointed to the staffing shortage itself, but also other aspects that were affecting morale and retention in general. One speaker pleaded with the board to let him see his wife again, to let his kids see their mom again after nearly a year of non-stop overtime. Another former full-time METCAD employee explained the conditions that she believed forced her to take a reduced 20 hour per week part-time position instead.
Others pointed to many of the criticisms raised by the family group on social media or spoke to the issue of trauma in this type of work environment, and the need to have time away from the job to cope with it. They all stayed close to the allotted speaking time, with a little extra time for one speaker to finish reading the last bit of his written statement.
This took up about the first 20 minutes of the meeting.
Staffing Updates:
The last hour of the meeting was almost entirely dedicated to the staffing report and comments about the staffing shortage. Director Caldwell shared a great deal of information noting the national nature of the staffing crisis impacting 911 centers across the United States. He pointed to recent studies from 2024 and 2023 about staffing shortages, their reasons, and some recommendations to deal with the issue. There was an additional report about the issue in the State of Maine about similar staffing crises in 911 centers there as well.
He went on to dispute some of the criticisms in the newspaper and social media, the gist of which were covered in the WAND and WCIA articles published prior to the meeting.
For example, the director and others denied that local 911 calls were being diverted to other counties because of the shortage, with the exception of the area 911 outage in Champaign and Vermillion County roughly 7 months ago. WCIA had coverage of that outage and updates back in March here.
He appeared to mock "conspiracy theories" about the changed time and location of the meeting from the Champaign Public Library at 9am to the ILEAS Training Center in Urbana at 8:30am. He correctly noted that this change was not recent and had been in the works for a long time. Public confusion, however, is probably understandable as the meeting calendar still lists the meeting times and dates for this and upcoming meetings at the Champaign Public Library at 9am.
He noted that the Board is in the process of hiring a consulting firm to look at the staffing crisis and recommendations on how to alleviate the problem. He pointed out that the second proposal was received yesterday from another firm that responded to the request. They will be evaluating those proposals in the near future to decide on which one best fits the board's needs.
He argued that the current staff is well supported, pointing to therapy dogs, not canceling vacations, and staff recognition activities, among other things.
Additional Board and Director Comments:
After the Director's report, there were some additional comments that explained some additional measures that could help reduce call times and volume for the dispatchers, including the upcoming implementation of ASAP to PSAP (what is this?) next week.
A few board members requested additional information on some technical items, including the impact of "lift assist" non-emergency calls in Rantoul. Others looked for some specifics when considering the consulting firm's dive into the staffing issue and possible recommendations, such as cutting edge solutions.
Mayor Marlin reiterated the director's earlier support for reclassification of 911 dispatchers from clerical to first responders to help pave the way for higher pay and benefits. She and other board members thanked members of the public for coming out, showing interest, and working with them moving forward.
