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Dispatchers at Oswego County’s E-9-1-1 system responded to more than 87,500 emergency incidents last year. They answered more than 230,000 phone calls and sent police, fire and EMS agencies to emergencies in every corner of Oswego County.

9-1-1 is a great system that does what it was designed to do – send “timely and appropriate assistance” when the health, safety and welfare of county residents is threatened. It is a service that we often take for granted.

Robert Hayes, the man who directed and managed the system from the ground up, retired at the beginning of this month. When the county hired Hayes in the early 1990s, the E-9-1-1 system did not exist. Hayes was responsible for creating a comprehensive database for 9-1-1 addresses, so that every home, business, and vacant lot on every highway or dirt road in the county had an identifiable address. When the database was completed, Bob was asked by the County Legislature to stay and oversee the implementation of the E-9-1-1 system.

The county needed to choose software and order equipment for the computer-aided dispatch system, install a massive amount of computer equipment at the PSC on Churchill Road in Oswego, develop a process that functioned for all police, fire and EMS agencies, work with the phone companies to make sure that calls were routed to the 9-1-1 center, and educate residents about the use of the system. The 9-1-1 staff was also tasked with completing the countywide 800-Mhz trunked radio system.

At the time it must have seemed like a huge undertaking, but under Bob’s direction all the pieces fell into place. Today the county E-9-1-1 system dispatches calls among the 32 fire departments, seven ambulance corps, and seven police agencies in the county. The program has 25 telecommunicators that work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year. All priority calls are handled by the “closest car” available, to make sure that callers receive the help they need in the most timely manner.

Working closely along Bob’s side has been operations manager Michael Allen. Mike, who has been involved in every facet of the system, will serve as interim director of the 9-1-1 communication system.

There are exciting new challenges ahead.

Enhanced 9-1-1 technology allows the dispatcher to pinpoint the location of the call on a landline phone, even if the caller is unable to speak or stay on the line. With the rapid increase in wireless phones, the dispatch system has become more complicated. The volume of calls has increased. The county’s current equipment identifies the location of landline phone calls, but cannot tell where a cell phone call is coming from. This can be a problem, especially along the Interstate 81 corridor when travelers may not know which town they are in or what exits they are between.

The county has received grant funding for new phone equipment and a mapping system that will pinpoint the location of a wireless 9-1-1 call. This will allow the dispatcher to see where the call is coming from and help determine what agency to send.

Allen is also pursuing another important issue – the $1.20 surcharge that wireless phone users pay every month. The surcharge is intended to help counties pay for wireless 9-1-1 equipment. However, less than one-third of the $400 million collected across New York State has been used to fund local 9-1-1 centers. A report by the state Comptroller’s Office showed that most of the money has been diverted to other accounts in state government.

Hayes and Allen have both been very involved in lobbying efforts to return the surcharge revenues to the counties where they originated. We can expect to hear more about this as 9-1-1 centers across the state are becoming more vocal on this issue.

Hopefully, 9-1-1 is a call that most of us won’t ever have to make. However, it is reassuring to know that as Bob Hayes steps down, he leaves a well-run dispatch system with a very capable and dedicated staff. On behalf of the Legislature and the citizens of Oswego County, I would like to publicly thank Bob for his dedication and hard work, and wish him well in his retirement.