Hiring more staff could save money, prevent stress

For many in Allegheny County, one of the most grueling aspects of air travel comes on the drive home from the airport, which can take the better part of an hour to many areas.

Now imagine that drive after working a double shift answering calls at the 911 call center, soon to be located in the vicinity of Pittsburgh International Airport. This dangerous situation is what the county is about to require of its employees, and it comes on top of the routine overtime and erratic scheduling recently outlined in the PostGazette (Oct. 15, “At the 911 Center, Stress, Long Hours and Now a Dispute Over Overtime Pay”).

An audit by my office four years ago recommended hiring more employees to lessen the need for long hours in a high-stress job and to save some taxpayer money. We found that hiring the necessary staff would save more than $50,000 per year. Yet the situation persists, and will soon worsen for many workers who will also endure the extended commute.

Little rationale has been given for the relocation of the call center, now fairly centrally located in the Lexington Technology Park in Pittsburgh’s East End. Another audit by my office showed that expanding the new facility, which was built at taxpayer expense, will cost millions. But a decision last week by Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, which granted a for-profit developer the right to purchase the Lexington property, may tell us all we need to know.

The move comes, too, as the city of Pittsburgh prepares to buy the former Highland Drive veterans hospital property for a “public safety campus.” Incorporating 911 into this campus, which is a short drive from the current call center and roughly in the middle of the county, would be eminently sensible. A move to the farthest reaches of the county that will burden both taxpayers and our employees, however, is not.

CHELSA WAGNER

North Point Breeze The writer is the Allegheny County Controller.