Title
Joint resolution confirming the Lake County Board’s continued commitment to providing policy leadership, staff resources and financial support in next phase of the Lake County Consolidated 911 effort.
Staff Summary
• The Lake County Board (Board) has provided legacy leadership in the effort to investigate and encourage 911 consolidation activities in Lake County.
• The Board supported the convening of various partners, including the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, that participated in the Lake County Emergency Telephone System Board (ETSB) 911 Consolidation Study (Phase II Study) that looked at consolidating more than a dozen independent primary and secondary Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) in Lake County.
• The results of the study identifies the potential benefits of dispatch consolidation which include enhancing coverage and data sharing; as well as realizing operational savings between agencies.
• The Board supports the establishment of interim two-tier governance structure to serve as the decision-making body on behalf of all participating communities. The recommended structure includes a policy board and an operations board, which may also include sub-committees to study specific subject areas and make recommendations to the governing board, as outlined in the Phase II study.
• Once established, the Interim Policy Governance Board should recruit and select a professional project manager to provide implementation leadership for the consolidation effort. The project manager will be the staff lead serving all participating communities and public safety entities for the remaining consolidation activities.
• The Board approved an annual budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 that includes a financial commitment to the 911 consolidation effort of partial funding for hiring of the project manager and consultants necessary for the detailed data analysis. Additionally, the Board commits County Administration staff resources to support the activities of the project.
• The County has offered to serve as the fiduciary agent on behalf of all communities and will the appropriate separate account to keep an accurate accounting of revenue and expenses on behalf of the consortium. This project was included in the Lake County 2018 budget and once total costs are known, staff will bring back a resolution to allocate the necessary funds.
Body
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Lake County and local partners studied opportunities to enhance service levels and gain efficiencies by consolidating more than a dozen independent primary and secondary Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) in Lake County; and
WHEREAS, a Lake County and Lake County ETSB 911 Consolidation Study including an assessment of the PSAP entities and communities in Lake County was completed in April 2017; and the
WHEREAS, the Lake County and Lake County ETSB 911 Consolidation Study Report concluded that dispatch consolidation is a mutually beneficial path for public safety entities in Lake County; and
WHEREAS, potential benefits of dispatch consolidation include the following: reduced call transferring, enhanced coverage for 24/7 operations through increased staffing flexibility of well-staffed centers, more consistent and effective service delivery, greater opportunity for inter-agency response and/or back up, data sharing between agencies and responders in the field, and expanded oversight; enhanced interoperability and the ability to share information across jurisdictions; operational savings; reductions in future capital investment and duplicative technology maintenance agreements; and
WHEREAS, all of the findings and recommendations from the report have been presented and shared in numerous meetings with community and public safety representatives; and
WHEREAS, a more detailed examination by and dialogue among seriously interested public safety entities is needed to determine what service enhancements, efficiencies, and financial savings can be reached through regional consolidation of PSAP centers; and
WHEREAS, the detailed examination and dialogue will be under the direction of a formal 911 Policy Governance Committee comprised of representatives from committed communities; and
WHEREAS, it is recommended that the Policy Governance Board select a project manager to lead the development of an implementation plan to identify and resolve issues, weigh alternatives and collect all dispatch data to examine the costs, call activity and workloads of interested communities; and
WHEREAS, the Lake County Board hereby commits to providing high level policy leadership towards realizing the vision of one or two consolidated 911 centers in Lake County.
WHEREAS, the Lake County Board hereby commits to support through resource and financial commitment, project management and extension of its purchasing power to ensure the efficient implementation of the next phase of the 911 Consolidation effort in Lake County for all of the reasons stated above and it is in the best interests of the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the Lake County.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board Chair of the Lake County, Illinois as follows:
Section 1. The commitment of leadership, overall project management, procurement authority and financial support towards this phase of the 911 consolidation effort.
Section 2. The commitment of policy level and staff participation on the governance boards and working groups that are tasked with data collection and analysis, policy review, financial considerations and the development of recommendations.
Section 3. The 911 Policy Governance Board shall meet regularly to discuss and make recommendations regarding the possible consolidation of 911 Emergency Telephone Service Answering (inclusive of dispatch services) within Lake County into one or more 911 operations and dispatch center (s) to serve all committed jurisdictions. The target delivery date for sharing the implementation report developed by this Committee is to file the written recommendations with both the County Board and the Sheriff’s Office in early 2019.
Section 4. The 911 Policy Governance Board is charged with identifying all major implementation issues associated with 911 Dispatch consolidation, developing options and solutions for said issues, considering the operational impact of each alternative, sharing and documenting all findings, recommendations and best practices.
Section 5. The 911 Policy Governance Board will work with the project manager and any necessary consultants to calculate cost estimates for various alternatives, and will make recommendations for the most effective and economical cost alternative for consolidation of services.
Section 6. The Lake County Board Chair is empowered to take all steps necessary to implement the intent of this Resolution in addition to executing this Resolution on behalf of the Lake County Board. The County Clerk is hereby authorized to execute this Resolution and to transmit a certified copy to the Chair of the Lake County Board and to the Lake County Clerk.
DATED at Waukegan, Illinois, on February 13, 2018.