(VIDEO) CONCATTO MOVES 9-1-1 "REHAB" FORWARD; HEALY'S OPPOSITION NOTWITHSTANDING?

 

UPDATE:  08/19/2011 AT 6:20 PM.

9-1-1 Project Manager Joe Concatto responded to the Kirk video tapes as follows:

Martin,

I do not believe this is the fault of 9-1-1.  Residence at this location can request a medic unit in four different ways:

1.  Call 9-1-1 by land line and they can tell the dispatcher what apartment they are in.  In some cases the apartment number would be included in the information the dispatcher receives from their 9-1-1 automatic location information.  If the resident cannot speak and this information is not part of the 9-1-1 automatic location information then the dispatcher will only know the address of the building from which the call is coming.

2.  Call 9-1-1 with a wireless phone and they can tell the dispatcher what apartment they are in.  However, if they cannot speak the wireless call will only show the location of the cell phone within 200 to 300 hundred feet.  It will not tell the dispatcher what building they are in nor what apartment they are in.

3.  The person may have a medical alarm necklace or wrist band that when pressed will initiate an alarm at a private security/alarm company.  That company would then call 9-1-1 and would let the dispatcher know the problem and the apartment number.  The dispatcher would dispatch a unit according to this information.

4.  Each apartment has an e mergency pull chain that when pulled lights up a panel on the first floor which identifies  their apartment number. It will alsoturn on a light above their apartment.  The pull of the chain will also call a private security/alarm company who in turn will call 9-1-1 and identify the alarm.  The alarm company and the unit responding relies on the first floor  panel to know what apartment hasthe problem.   If the panel does not light up and the alarm company doesnot know the apartment number than the medic unit must go floor to floorto look for the light above the apartment door.

I think #4 is what happen in this case.

Don't hold me to these procedures but I believe I am close.

ORIGINAL POST

"These are times that try men's souls" these days among those who are directing the effort to fix what has been termed to be a badly broken Stark County 9-1-1 emergency services call receiving and dispatch operation.

While substantial progress has been made (as explained by 9-1-1 Project Manager Joe Concatto to Stark's commissioners at their regular meeting Wednesday past; work remains to be done to finalize Stark having a "state-of-the-art" 9-1-1 system,  a huge roadblock (in the opinion of the SCPR) remains.

It appears to The Report that ONLY Mayor William J. Healy, II of Canton stands in the way of completion of the project.

One has to wonder how Healy can and Canton City Council (who the SCPR faults for allowing Healy to block Canton's participation in a countywide system) can sit and listen to Canton citizen Patricia Kirk (July 11th and August 8th) describe (during Public Speaks) alarming instances of what appear to be 9-1-1 operation problems at her (where she lives) Canton-based tall, multiplex apartment building and persists in resisting efforts to complete the merger of the system into a two-center (one prime, one backup) operation.




The SCPR has forwarded copies of the videos of Ms. Kirk's presentation to Concatto for analysis and it could be that Healy's blockage has nothing to do with the Kirk described problems.  However, The Report believes that whether or not such is the case, it cannot be good for Cantonians, Stark Countians or anyone traveling through the Stark County area in need of emergency services for the fracture between Canton and Stark County on 9-1-1 complete integration to persist.

The SCPR has long maintained that Healy is a "my way or the highway" type of guy.  Not only on 9-1-1, but on virtually any governance issue where he see that there is an question on who is going to be in charge.

Though in his political campaigns he is known to use the phrase "TeamHealy." Mayor William J. Healy, II is no team player as far as Stark County's welfare overall is concerned.

But credit Stark County officials (the commissioners and the Stark County Council of Governance [SCOG] and its governance committee (headed by Jackson Fiscal Officer Randy Gonzalez) for persisting on the project.

Commissioners, on Wednesday, reaffirmed their commitment to maintain the approximate $2.75 million in sales tax money collected (from the imposed 1/2% by Bosley, Harmon and Vignos), to aid in the rehab of countywide 9-1-1.  Moreover, they passed a resolution putting out for bid a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software program (which is likely to cost about $1 to $1.5 million dollars) at the request of Concatto.



Here are videos of Concatto at Wednesday's meeting updating commissioners on the progress of the repair of 9-1-1 and also amplifying his comments to commissioners in a separate interview with the SCPR:

(VIDEO; BERNABEI & CREIGHTON EXAMINE 9-1-1) ----- STARK'S 9-1-1 CENTRALIZED COUNTYWIDE REHAB WILL BE UP AND RUNNING AS A "REMOTE" OPERATION BY ABOUT MAY, 2011; BUT IS IT SUSTAINABLE IN TERMS OF FUTURE COSTS?

In doing their work session study this past Tuesday, Commissioner-elect Janet Creighton and Commissioner Tom Bernabei are providing the "in-process" rehab of Stark County 9-1-1 system its best chance to get off on "the right foot."  That is to say, in a more technical way:  with "sustainable practicality."

Too much, in recent times, what government and business do throughout America is unsustainable.

Going back just a few years and former President Bush's "everybody in America - a home owner" program, as laudable as it was, was unrealistic when it got to the point that it generated "liar loans" and the like which resulted in the massive foreclosure problem that threatened to bring the USA and all of its political subdivisions to their collective economic/financial knees.

Some government leaders have figured out the problem of governments fostering "unsustainable" programs and practices and are taking measures to stop the undermining of the viability of the greatness of America.

Once such effort appears to be taking place right here in Stark County with our newly elected commissioners:  Janet Creighton and Thomas Bernabei.

Former commissioners (Bosley, Harmon and Vignos) made an incredible blunder in December, 2008 in "imposing" a 0.50 sales tax for the obstensible purpose of rebuilding Stark County's broken 9-1-1 system.

Imposing the tax was, in the imposing, a "poison" pill which threatened to kill the root goal (fixing 9-1-1) of having the revenues in the first place.  Then the imposing triad decided that the imposition was not enough.  They added a "for the general fund aspect" to the tax and in promoting acceptance of the tax by the Stark County public "downplayed" - to say the very least, the general fund part of the tax increase.  The downplaying gave Stark Countians the idea that their government was not being very forthright with them.

And, then - four months later - came the revelation of the Frustaci theft from the Stark treasury and Stark Countians were in a tizzy about the reliability of Stark County government.

So now it is up to newly elected officials (Bernabei and Creighton) as well as Zumbar at treasury and Harold at the auditor's office and the bevy of political subdivision officials (villiage, city, township and board of education officials) to pick up the pieces and take concerted actions to restore the public's trust in local government.

BACK TO THE COMMISSIONERS

In observing the work session of Tuesday past on the 9-1-1 situation, it became apparent to the SCPR that the commissioners' focus was on the viability of the configuration of the project.

While the commissioners are not involved directly in the governance of the project, they could conceivably take the $2.75 million sitting in a general fund account and apply the money to the 16% shortfall of general fund monies for the 2011 budges and in that way kill the rehab of 9-1-1.

The Stark County Political Report does not believe that the diversion of 9-1-1 monies will happen for two reasons:  first, Sheriff Swanson, The Reporth has learned, is on record as saying that he will not be pursuing the $2.75 million to apply to his budget shortfall because it would be like applying a band-aid to a gaping hole.  Secondly, the vetting by commissioners of Concatto/Gonzalez revealed weaknesses in the plan that in taking corrective action upon gives commissioners the assurances they need that a reconfigured 9-1-1 will, indeed, work and move forward with what appears to be a sustainable financial model.

Every Stark County public officials needs to follow the Bernabei/Creighton model of local governing.  For whenever there is a failure in sustainability, it leaves a bad taste in the people's mouths and governing becomes that much more difficult across the governing spectrum.

What have Bernabei and Creighton discovered about the 9-1-1 project in process?  First, there are weaknesses how ongoing personnel costs will be funded and, moreover, secondly, a consideration of whether or not the funds are likely to be there for capital improvements (i.e. the call receiving equipment and the computer assisted dispatch/radio factors) as new technology comes on board.

What remedies for the weaknesses are to be found?

On the personnel costs (call center employees and dispatchers) there are the "wireless fund monies" at 28 cents per cellphone customer in Ohio imposed by the Ohio legislature running through December 31, 2012.  That fund (on The Report's analysis) will generate enough money to pay for the call center (in the sense of receiving calls) employees.  And, on the equipment side, it will generate enough money (when coupled with a 1/10th of one mill property tax levy due to expire in 2012) to pay for an upgrade in the "Plant CML" call receiving system which will likely (according to Stark EMA Director Tim Warstler) be out-of-date five (5) to seven (7) years.

The word is that the Stark County legislative delegation (Oelslager, Schuring, Slesnick and Snitchler) is asking what they can do to help with the future viability of Stark's 9-1-1. 

The answer?  Very simple.  They need - at the very minimum - to push through an extension of the 28 cents wireless fund assessment.  The assessment generates $900,000 annually for Stark.  Ideally, they will push for an increase.  For if they do, (let's say a doubling to about 60 cents per month per cellphone user), then Stark County will not have to worry whether or not the 1/10th of a mill property tax levy is renewed by Stark Countians, which the SCPR thinks is worrisome given the downward spiraling economic times we now live in.

Another answer that was generated by Benabei/Creighton questioning of Project Manger Joe Concatto and Stark County Council of Governments (SCOG) 9-1-1 Countywide Governance Committee chairman Randy Gonzalez is this:  9-1-1 will be financed by "user fees" going forward, and therefore, the fees have to sufficient to pay for the dispatchers (some 80 or so) who will man the system when it becomes narrowed down to two locales (the Canton center and the Sheriff's center) and, moreover, the fees will have to be high enough to generate a "capital improvement fund" so that out-of-production Motorola Centracom Golden Elite consoles that are to be the backbone of the initial setup for the dispatch side of 9-1-1 can be replaced with state-of-the-art equipment in five years or so.

Honing the user fees to provide for future viability and sustainability is no easy task for Concatto, Gonzalez and their fellows.  How is that?

Although all but one local dispatch center (CenCom - sponsored by the Nimishillen trustees) have accepted  Countywide 911's offer of remote hosting equipment to receive calls (i.e. AT&T's Plant CML - which is to been in place at the localized dispatch centers by May, 2011); whether or not Stark County can get to the next step - relocating the local center dispatchers to the Canton Center (nine dispatch consoles staffed with about 40 dispatchers around the clock) and to a redundant center at the Sheriff's facility (also nine dispatch consoles with about 40 dispatchers around the clock) is "still" problematical.

Really?  What is the possible hitch?

Localities (Alliance, Minerva, North Canton, Perry Township, Plain Township and the Red Center) will have to make a determination that it financially pays off for them to merge into the two redundant centers before they will give up their locality-based dispatching centers.

Just as an aside, Nimishillen Township's CenCom and the county fire and police department served by CenCom (in the opinion of the SCPR) - when Stark's countywide systems gets up and running next May (2011) or whenever, will be a step behind the county system.

How so?

A part of the countywide build up to centralized countywide 9-1-1 call receiving and dispatch involves a stage in which all of the current localized dispatch centers (Alliance, Minerva, North Canton, Plain Township, Perry Township and ems, fire and police served by the Red Center) will receive access as Public Safety Access Points (PSAP) remotely.  CenCom's customers (according to 9-1-1 project manager Joe Concatto) will not.   CenCom (despite the best efforts of Trustee Allen Gress) rejected the county's offer of equipment which would enable "remote" dispatching capability and therefore will not have the ability to lessen by one step the process by which an emergency 9-1-1 caller get a dispatcher to send an emergency unit to site of the emergency.

If Stark County gets to a centralized countywide 9-1-1 call receiving and dispatch operation, because of the work of Bernabei and Creighton along with the prior efforts of Stark County's political subdivision police and fire chiefs (including the recalcitrant Rich Peterson of CenCom/Nimishillen Township) it will be one of the very best economically sustainable and viable systems in all of Ohio and, perhaps, even in the nation.

By building government services - in a transparent, accessible manner - like it appears that Stark's 9-1-1 is in the making; local government officials do themselves and all government officials a hugely good turn in restoring citizen confidence in the responsiveness and attentiveness of government to the needs of everydays.

The Report applauds participants in the vetting process (democracy at work) for being part of the mix.  Gonzalez, Concatto and Warstler are singled out for their persistence and flexibility.  Moreover, though they - in the opinion of the SCPR - chose an unwise course for the funding mechanism, Commissioner Todd Bosley and former Commissioners Harmon and Vignos have made significant contributions to the building of a viable countywide 9-1-1 system.

Here is a video of Warstler and Concatto making a recent presentation to county commissioners.



Here is a video showing Creighton and Benabei vetting Concatto and Gonzalez on the cost factor of countywide centralized 9-1-1. It is quite revealing!

MULE PETERSON "CAN-NOT-A" GO SCOG ON 9-1-1?

UPDATE: (06/30/2009 - TUESDAY AT 12:30 AM)
STARK COUNTY COMMISSIONER TODD BOSLEY

The fact that Mrs. Shafer does not know there is a definitive plan illustrates my point. They have not been to a meeting for many months and are making decisions based on hear say (second hand information)!! The Stark Council of Governments wants to hear why they are opposed, but they (the Trustees) will not make themselves available.

Here are some facts -

1) Cencom has an operating budget greater than $400,000.00 per year which is subsidized by Nimishillen Township residents for other communities dispatching needs. That means Nimishillen Township residents pay for the dispatching of other communities such as Perry and Canton Township.

2) Cencom cannot add any additional users until it purchases additional equipment which costs hundreds of thousands of dollars

3) The Trustees have not attended a SCOG Governance Committee meeting in over a year

4) Cencom will be forced to close if the SCOG Central dispatch system opens because no community will pay for dispatching if the County offers it for free

5) Even if Cencom remained open to service itself, it would not recieve 911 calls directly, they would still have to be transferred. This would create further delays and confusion for residents of Nimishillen in need of help. How could any Trustee say this would benefit the Township? It would create greater delays and put the Township in bankruptcy.

The conclusion to this matter is very simple. Nimishillen Township residents cannot shoulder the cost of dispatching on its own. The $400,000 plus operating cost would put the Township into bankruptcy and residents would suffer greatly by the decreased response time. There is no good old boys club as Mrs. Shafer describes, but how would she know since she has not taken the time to show up for a meeting in over a year.

I CHALLENGE ALL THREE NIMISHILLEN TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE'S TO SHOW UP AT THE NEXT SCOG GOVERANCE MEETING AND PRESENT THEIR CASE TO THE BOARD!

Todd Bosley
Your Stark County Commissioner

UPDATE: (06/29/2009 - MONDAY AT 11:30 AM)
NIMISHILLEN TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE LISA SHAFER

Dear Martin,

After reading the article, "Mule Peterson can-not-a go SCOG on 9-1-1" it is more apparent that even Commissioner Todd Bosley has lost touch with the direction that the 9-1-1 Project is headed.

First of all, Commissioner Bosley must be very confused because over the past 18 months or so I have attended many SCOGS meetings as well as Chief Peterson thru out the process. Attending the meetings however is more of a spectator status rather than being a participant.

In addition, I can assure you that the Nimishillen Township Trustees and the Chief are making educated decisions based on what is best for our community and the agencies that we serve. Our Board voted unanimously to remove ourselves from participation on the 9-1-1 committee which should not be confused with our participation in SCOGS.

The 9-1-1 project continues whether we participate or not . Why is it that Nimishillen and Cencom is the center of attention? Could it be because we refuse to be part of the "good old boys club?" The county has no definitive plan and too many unanswered questions... Not to mention, a sales tax that was imposed on the people that is still in question. Will it be on the ballot? This project should be about saving lives and making Stark County a leader in 9-1-1. Somewhere along the way the 9-1-1 Project has turned into a political three ring circus. Politicians serving their best interests not the interests of those they are sworn to serve.

For those who may be confused by Commissioner Bosley's statements, let me make this perfectly clear. Cencom is not closing.

Lisa Shafer
Nimishillen Township Trustee

UPDATE: (06/28/2009 - SUNDAY - AT 12:15 PM)
COMMISSIONER BOSLEY RESPONDS TO NIMISHILLEN FIRE CHIEF PETERSON

I respect Chief Peterson and his views on this matter. I know he believes in the safety and well being of the public. He truely cares about Nimishillen Township residents.

I believe all three Nimishillen Township Trustee's are making decisions based on hear say with regards to SCOG dispatch plans. Had any of the Nimishillen Township Trustee's actually attended the SCOG meetings held on this subject, they might have been able to give Chief Peterson and the people of Nimishillen Township more accurate information regarding 9-1-1.

SCOG is willing to work with Nimishillen Township and incorporate their dispatch equipment into the County plan. SCOG will have to purchase additional equipment and I believe it should be at the benefit of Nimishillen Township residents. The Participation of the Nimishillen Trustees in this process would be beneficial towards moving thingsforward. It's impossible to have a meaningful discussion when the decision makers (The Trustee's) refuse to come to a meeting.

It is not a secret that we have the worst dispatch system in the entire United States. This fact was revealed in the Geocom Report in 2008. The restructuring of 911 is very territorial, but the Stark Council of Governments has proposed a solution that will bring Stark County to the forefront in dispatching services. It is my responsibility to represent all residents of Stark County and keep them safe. All that matters to me is that once these changes are implemented, every person in Stark County can be confident that when they dial 9-1-1, help will be on the way. I look forward to continued work with my friend Chief Peterson and the other Safety Leaders in Stark County.


Todd Bosley
Your Stark County Commissioner

RICH PETERSON COMMENT - POSTED 06/27/2009 AT 10:15 PM (SCPR HAS ASKED COMMISSIONER TODD BOSLEY TO RESPOND. IF BOSLEY CHOOSES TO RESPOND, THE SCPR WILL UPDATE THIS STORY

For the record, Commissioner Bosley did not support a "centralized 911 dispatch center" when he was a township trustee and a candidate for county commissioner. He wanted to see the fire station / regional communications center become a reality in Nimishillen Township as a part of a countywide system. After a Nimishillen Township resident's little girl had a less than satisfactory experience with the current 911 system, Bosley took on the charge to "fix" 911 by having the calls answered in the regional centers that actually send the police officers, the ambulance units, and the firefighters. Meetings were held with many agencies and political factions regarding this regionalized proposal. Participants included Bosley, RED Center representatives, Sheriff Swanson, Kirk Shuring, Congressman Regula's office, the EMA/911 Director, and Stark County Commissioners.

It seems now the focus is no longer getting help to the little girl who wasn't breathing but is now about political favors and money for the county via the sales tax. So Martin, that's why I'm not participating in this charade any longer. I want no part of the creation of a system that is based on anything other than the best interest of the end user calling 911 and the dispatchers and emergency safety forces that use it every day and depend on it working.

I think the "taking my toys and going home" is just an easy excuse instead of tackling the truth head on. I've told you before, I never wanted the 911/dispatching position and quite frankly believed that the RED Center Director (Mark Busto) was the man for the job. Even you admit that Joe Concatto is not qualified and was a political appointee. Joe Concatto is a fine person. He just wasn't the best candidate for the job. And one has to question how he could go around telling people he had the job in the fall of 2008 and amazingly was hires for the job. I would think that your investigative curiosity would have prompted you to look into these allegations.

The issue about SCOG purchasing CENCOM's equipment is simply not true. The SCOG Committee and its Director have already decided that they are not interested in purchasing any agency's current equipment other than giving free dispatching to Canton City and the Stark County Sheriff in exchange for a $1 per year fee to use their existing centers. Nimishillen Township and the agencies making up its CENCOM dispatch center are not interesting in having a "garage sale" and ceasing operations for a proposed county system that doesn't currently exist, has far too many unanswered questions, and so far offers no advantages over CENCOM's current features and offers a facility (Canton's site) that is structurally inferior to CENCOM's tornado proof, below grade construction design.

And the need for a fire station was determined and was planned to be constructed since 1999. The idea to incorporate the communications center into the lower level of the fire station was after the initial plans were started and came about out of necessity due to the fact that a private dispatching company was going out of business and the agencies of that center had no alternatives for dispatching services. (Where were all of the experts then?) CENCOM was built and created out of necessity, not ego which is more than can be said about the current county dispatch proposal. There are way too many egos and too many folks just wanting to create a legacy. So let's be clear. The fire station and the dispatch center are not closing. We will continue to operate CENCOM for those agencies that seek quality, customized, state of the art dispatching at an affordable price.



ORIGINAL STORY

The big sticking point for Nimishillen Fire Chief Rich Peterson on the SCOG 9-1-1 is project manager Joseph Concatto.

Piercing the veil of all the rhetoric that Peterson has unleashed as to why Nimishillen is going its own way on 9-1-1 dispatch, it is clear to the SCPR that the real reason is the appointment of former Canton Fire Chief and Creighton administration official Joseph Concatto.

Peterson does make a valid point that Concatto had no previous experience in emergency dispatch and that he has had to work hard to get conversant in emergency services (necessitating the expense of taking trips to seminar sites such as San Diego).

Moreover, the SCPR buys into the notion that Concatto's appointment was wrapped up in Stark County politics under the direction of Stark County Democratic Party chairman Randy Gonzalez (executive vice president at the time of the appointment). Gonzalez battled with Stark Commissioner Todd Bosley over whom the project manager would be.

Bosley was pushing for Peterson. Gonzalez was pushing for departing Canton Safety Director Tom Nesbitt initially and then went to Concatto as his first alternative. Some Stark emergency force officials feel that Concatto was Gonzalez's first choice all along and that the Nesbitt thing was a political sleight-of-hand gambit.

Why Nesbitt or Concatto?

Because Gonzalez apparently feels that he can control/direct either one.

Back to the Nimishillen Township aspect of the 9-1-1 project.

How Rich Peterson goes, so goes the Nimishillen Township trustees.

At a Stark County Township Trustees Association (SCTA) meeting (June 18th - Louisville Baptist Temple), Nimishillen Trustee Allen Gress got into a "disagreement" (to put it nicely) with Stark County Commissioner Todd Bosley over the county's remake of Stark County centralized dispatch.

Listen to the audio tape (below) of Trustee Allen Gress (trustee since January, 2007) at the June, 2009 SCTA meeting.

You will hear Commissioner Bosley correct Gress on his facts regarding Sheriff Swanson and what he did/did not or could have done with regard to a centralized 9-1-1 dispatch.

As an aside, the SCPR takes exception to Gress's comment to the effect that the SCPR took the position that the Nimishillen wanted Commissioner Bosley defeated in the upcoming 2010 election.

What the SCPR actually said was that "the effect" of the Nimishillen trustees/Peterson position on the CenCom/SCOG Governance Committee tete-a-tete (via the media) "could" undermine Bosley's re-election drive because he ran on fixing 9-1-1 as his primary campaign theme when he defeated Republican incumbent Richard Regula whom he accused of dwaddling on repairing 9-1-1.

Historically, Peterson of Nimishillen and Bosley (a former Nimishillen trustee) have been pretty much joined at the hip on the need to redo centralized 9-1-1 in Stark County.

Now that Peterson, who Bosley fought hard for to make the 9-1-1 project manager, is - yes - Mr. Gress - "taking his marbles and going home" since he lost out to Concatto; he and the Nimshillen trustees are - ironically, in the opinion of the SCPR, undermining Bosley's re-election chances.

Gress is a newspaper man who comes out of Morrow County and presently works as an independent contractor (as the SCPR understands the relationship) for the Louisville Herald. It is interesting that he cannot seem to get the SCPR's take on the 9-1-1 centralization straight nor the correct take on Sheriff Swanson and 9-1-1 centralization efforts.

As another aside, the SCPR has been told that at the SCTA meeting, fellow trustee Mike Lynch advised Gress that the SCTA forum was not the appropriate place to air his grievances with the SCPR, Bosley, Sheriff Swanson and the 9-1-1 Governance Committee.

One final point. The SCPR believes that Nimishillen local government is in a world of hurt on this issue. They have expensive dispatch equipment that will become inefficient when most if not all of its Stark County local government customers migrate to Stark County's centralized dispatch which they surely will do. How could local governments pay Nimishillen for a service that is "free" from Stark County centralized dispatch?

Moreover, there is that fire station that houses CenCom in its basement. If CenCom ceases to exist in its broader context; is there a justification to keep the fire station open?

Apparently, Commissioner Bosley is not holding it against Peterson and the Nimishillen trustees for (again, in the opinion of the SCPR) undermining his prized 9-1-1 centralization project.

Why would the SCPR surmise that?

Because he is trying to find a way for Stark County centralized dispatch to procure the Nimishillen equipment.

That folks, is interesting, indeed.

Now listen to the audio, as Gress fulminates.