Perquimans commissioners voted this week to move forward with consolidation of the county’s 911 Communications Center with Gates County’s 911 emergency call center.
Perquimans is now waiting to hear from Gates County officials whether they also will approve the agreement, which has Perquimans’ 911 Communications Center taking over reception of 911 calls in Gates and dispatching law enforcement and emergency services in both counties.
Perquimans County Manager Frank Heath said Gates will pay the costs for the consolidation, which will require Perquimans to add more full-time staff to its 911 center.
Once Gates commissioners vote for the agreement and relay their decision to Perquimans, Heath can advise the county by April 1 of its monthly financial obligation for the merger. Gates will be billed on a monthly basis through June 30, which is the end of the current fiscal year.
Gates Sheriff Ray Campbell’s request in early February for Perquimans’ help responding to 911 calls spurred the consolidation effort. The sheriff’s request was apparently driven by a slew of resignations at the Gates 911 Communications Center.
Gates County Manager Scott Sauer confirmed in a Feb. 26 email that the county’s 911 communications director resigned Feb. 2 and that two communications supervisors resigned on Feb. 3 and Feb. 9, respectively. Three full-time telecommunicators also resigned on Feb. 9, leaving Gates with no full-time certified 911 dispatchers and its communications center out of compliance with state guidelines set by the NC 911 Board.
Julie Solesbee, assistant director of Perquimans County Emergency Services, said her agency first learned about Campbell’s request for Perquimans’ help on Feb. 7.
“On Wednesday, February 7th, Perquimans 911 staff were notified that we may need to assist with call taking and dispatching for Gates 911 during the day,” she said. “Sheriff Campbell initially requested assistance through the weekend of February 9th.”
The situation escalated after the additional resignations on Feb. 9. Heath told commissioners that in a Feb. 12 meeting with both Campbell and Sauer he learned there were only a handful of part-time dispatchers working at Gates’ 911 communications center.
Heath advised Perquimans commissioners on Feb. 18 that given the loss of certified personnel in Gates, they should anticipate having to merge the two counties’ 911 communication centers.
Solesbee said Perquimans’ 911 Communications Center quickly began making adjustments to accommodate the increased call volume.
“We have increased our daily staffing in Perquimans 911 Communications to ensure that calls are answered and dispatched timely for both the citizens of Perquimans County and Gates County,” she said. “This increased staffing has come from part-time staff or full-time staff working overtime.”
Because Perquimans’ 911 center previously had to provide backup assistance to Gates 911 when the county encountered a similar staffing shortage a few years ago, the current situation isn’t exactly new. But it will require Perquimans to make some additions to its staffing.
“Many 911 centers do share staffing, but at this time, we do not have staff employed by both Perquimans County Communications and Gates County Communications,” Solesbee said last week prior to Perquimans’ commissioners’ vote. “If the consolidation moves forward, we have multiple candidates seeking full-time employment from both Perquimans and Gates counties.”
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