Board looks to consolidate dispatch

Sheriff says move would ultimately save county money

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors has taken its first step towards consolidating county emergency communications dispatch centers. On Tuesday, supervisors unanimously voted to create an ad hoc committee, led by 3rd District Supervisor Mike Wilson and 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn, to explore next steps.

There are currently four emergency communications dispatch centers in

Humboldt County operated by the Sheriff’s Office, along with police departments in Arcata, Eureka and Fortuna. Together the dispatch centers provide services to the Sheriff’s Office, five police departments, nine fire departments, three tribal police departments, two contract cities, Humboldt County Probation Department, Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, two Animal Control Services Divisions and ancillary services to the Bureau of Land Management and the U. S Forest Service, according to the staff report.

Consolidation of the dispatch centers would include standardizing equipment and procedures, bringing all first responders into a common radio and data communication system and creating a plan for meeting the growing needs of the public safety industry.

Jamie Young, communications consultant for Mission Critical Partners LLC, delivered a presentation to supervisors explaining the findings of the 2019 feasibility study. The main takeaway from Young’s presentation was the need for an adequately staffed dispatch center.

“One of the things that we try to advocate for is whether or not there’s an appetite to overhire,” Young explained.

“It’s important to try to be ahead of the curve, as opposed to always trying to catch up. I think that they’ve done a spectacular job keeping up with everything that they’ve been put in front of, they’ve accepted, but I do think it’s time for the staffing equation to be looked at and see if there’s any room for funding to support them as they sophisticate.”

Young recommended phasing in an additional eight dispatchers to bring the Sheriff’s Office total up to 15, not including two leads and one manager on duty, to the current structure.

Sheriff William Honsal voiced his support for consolidation of emergency dispatch centers, noting the increased efficiency and financial savings.

“The big benefits are that we can pool resources, we can share the technology, we can have operational efficiencies and ultimately a savings in the budget,” Honsal said.

However, Honsal said the county does not have a single facility for an emergency dispatch center at this time and looked to supervisors for the next steps.

Wilson voiced his support for consolidation, but also expressed the need for strategy.

“I just feel like there’s some strategy that really has to get into this,” he said. “We all know that when we start talking about multiple agencies and the politics … bringing that together is not necessarily very easy. Nonetheless, I think we need to start down that track and I do think we need a recommended path forward for that.”

Wilson suggested the creation of a subcommittee to direct supervisors and volunteered to lead the ad hoc committee along with Bohn.