Council will consider contracting out St. Albert’s fire emergency dispatch as part of an upcoming 911 review, a move the president of the local fire services union is calling a public-safety concern.
Unlike other municipalities in the region, St. Albert has its own 911 dispatch centre at the St. Albert RCMP detachment on Boudreau Road.
Calls for fire emergencies are sent up to the city’s local dispatch at Fire Hall #3, while ambulance dispatch switched over to centralized operation under Alberta Health Services (AHS) in 2009.
The City’s $1-million fiscal and operational review by Ernst & Young highlighted that upcoming costs associated with emergency delivery — including new next-generation 911 equipment requirements (which are planned to enable texting to the emergency line) — will present a significant financial investment for St. Albert.
The report recommends the City take a second look at its emergency dispatch operations and evaluate alternate methods of delivering the service.
In an email sent Tuesday morning, City spokesperson Cory Sinclair said following the Ernst & Young review, the City contracted professional accounting firm MNP to conduct a review of St. Albert's dispatch model delivery, scheduled for May 16. Sinclair said the review focuses on whether the City can meet resident safety needs now and in the future "in the most effective and efficient way."
"Public safety and service delivery to residents were important considerations during the review and while contemplating recommendations for the future delivery model," Sinclair said in the email. "These types of reviews are a regular part of the City’s practice; efficiencies must be found and understood to direct decision making."
The City did not share information regarding what options would come before council as part of the review by press time on Tuesday.
Reached Saturday, Coun. Mike Killick said options the City is exploring include contracting out the fire dispatch. He said council has yet to receive the backgrounder from administration outlining all the implications and potential benefits of each option, including the implications of keeping the service as is.
Any council decision on changing the delivery model is “subject to seeing the report and making a determination on how we can still best serve the residents through our dispatch,” including maintaining service levels in the most cost-effective way possible, Killick said.
Removing local dispatch a public safety concern: union
Greg Harvey, president of St. Albert Fire Services Local 2130, said he is deeply concerned about the potential implications for contracting out the fire dispatch.
“We view it as 100-per-cent public safety that our dispatchers locally know the land,” Harvey said.
He gave the example of a recent bush fire called in by a 12-year-old girl where the dispatcher was able to landmark that the girl was close to Bertha Kennedy Catholic School.
“An out-of-town dispatcher will … be fumbling around trying to get an address,” Harvey said. “That’s where seconds matter in an emergency.”
Harvey said he is concerned that should council make a decision during their May 16 meeting, the public will not have enough time to weigh in.
“That’s a scary thought,” Harvey said.
Council previously met in camera May 2 to discuss the 911 dispatch delivery model review final report.
Reasons for meeting in private supplied in an administrative backgrounder included advice from officials, and plans relating to personnel management that have not yet been implemented, both of which are protected under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Coun. Wes Brodhead said he was unsure whether he could discuss any decisions on the table for May 16, citing the private May 2 meeting.
Sinclair said in the email the City is still in the midst of conversations with union leadership "and potentially-impacted emergency services employees throughout the review."
"These conversations will continue as the City develops an implementation plan regarding a council-endorsed delivery model," Sinclair said. "Further information will be shared after the May 16 council meeting takes place."
