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City Council unanimously votes to withdraw from 911 system
By Edward Fennell
efennell@postandcourier.com
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
FOLLY BEACH -- Citing residents' complaints about slow response times, City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to withdraw from Charleston County's Consolidated 911 emergency dispatch system.
Under an agreement that City Council said has been reached with county officials, the county will help the city with the transition away from the centralized dispatch system and back to the system that ended in March when Folly dispensed with its own 911 dispatchers.
Withdrawing from the 911 system won't cost the island city any money, and the city can rejoin later if it desires, Councilman Eddie Ellis said. He said the county has agreed to a "cooperative transition" for Folly and that it will be "cost neutral" for Folly.
The centralized system sends all 911 calls to dispatchers in North Charleston. Some Folly Beach residents and officials have maintained that centralized system dispatchers are unfamiliar with Folly residents, landmarks and issues.
"This is a life-and-death issue," Ellis said, adding that with a reconstituted Folly Beach 911 dispatch system, "calls will be handled by someone familiar with Folly." The city dispatching office will be located in newly created Public Service Department space above the fire station, he said.
Folly Beach was an early partner in the consolidated 911 system, under which the county hoped to put all area police, fire, EMS and rescue operations under the direction of the same dispatch source. Ellis said the centralized system is not expected to be fully operational until 2013 -- and even though the city could rejoin at that time -- he hopes it does not.
Before council discussed the issue and voted 7-0, several island residents voiced displeasure with the centralized system.
Susan Breslin said she was driving Sunday on the island behind a boat being towed by a truck, and saw the boat clip and pull down an overhead wire. Breslin said she called 911 to report it, and maintained the dispatcher seemed unfamiliar with the concept of overhead power lines.
"My notion is, she came from an area where wires are buried and does not understand it," Breslin told council.
Sandy Townsend told council she called 911 from Folly Beach on a cell phone issued out-of-state, and could not get a prompt answer. "Please bring back our dispatchers," she pleaded.
Earlier this month, centralized 911 dispatch center Director Jim Lake said the county doesn't want to lose Folly and is willing to work with the island to improve responses. But, he said, there is little chance that dispatchers serving a county of 350,000 people can know every intimate detail of Folly and its people.
"We just cannot provide that level of customer service to them," he said. "I understand that they want that small sense of community, but we can't operate like that. We are covering the entire county," Lake said.
Folly backs out of consolidated emergency dispatch | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
By Edward Fennell
efennell@postandcourier.com
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
FOLLY BEACH -- Citing residents' complaints about slow response times, City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to withdraw from Charleston County's Consolidated 911 emergency dispatch system.
Under an agreement that City Council said has been reached with county officials, the county will help the city with the transition away from the centralized dispatch system and back to the system that ended in March when Folly dispensed with its own 911 dispatchers.
Withdrawing from the 911 system won't cost the island city any money, and the city can rejoin later if it desires, Councilman Eddie Ellis said. He said the county has agreed to a "cooperative transition" for Folly and that it will be "cost neutral" for Folly.
The centralized system sends all 911 calls to dispatchers in North Charleston. Some Folly Beach residents and officials have maintained that centralized system dispatchers are unfamiliar with Folly residents, landmarks and issues.
"This is a life-and-death issue," Ellis said, adding that with a reconstituted Folly Beach 911 dispatch system, "calls will be handled by someone familiar with Folly." The city dispatching office will be located in newly created Public Service Department space above the fire station, he said.
Folly Beach was an early partner in the consolidated 911 system, under which the county hoped to put all area police, fire, EMS and rescue operations under the direction of the same dispatch source. Ellis said the centralized system is not expected to be fully operational until 2013 -- and even though the city could rejoin at that time -- he hopes it does not.
Before council discussed the issue and voted 7-0, several island residents voiced displeasure with the centralized system.
Susan Breslin said she was driving Sunday on the island behind a boat being towed by a truck, and saw the boat clip and pull down an overhead wire. Breslin said she called 911 to report it, and maintained the dispatcher seemed unfamiliar with the concept of overhead power lines.
"My notion is, she came from an area where wires are buried and does not understand it," Breslin told council.
Sandy Townsend told council she called 911 from Folly Beach on a cell phone issued out-of-state, and could not get a prompt answer. "Please bring back our dispatchers," she pleaded.
Earlier this month, centralized 911 dispatch center Director Jim Lake said the county doesn't want to lose Folly and is willing to work with the island to improve responses. But, he said, there is little chance that dispatchers serving a county of 350,000 people can know every intimate detail of Folly and its people.
"We just cannot provide that level of customer service to them," he said. "I understand that they want that small sense of community, but we can't operate like that. We are covering the entire county," Lake said.
Folly backs out of consolidated emergency dispatch | The Post and Courier, Charleston SC - News, Sports, Entertainment
