Case No. 16-W-177 Consolidation Waiver Request
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STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE Hillside 9-1-1 System : : Case No. 16-W-177 Consolidation Waiver Request : RECOMMENDED DECISION By Administrative Law Judge Jan Von Qualen: I. BACKGROUND On July 19, 2016, Hillside 9-1-1 System (“Hillside” or "ETSB") filed a verified Request for Waiver of the 9-1-1 consolidation requirement, pursuant to Section 15.4a(c) of the Emergency Telephone System Act (“Act”), 50 ILCS 750/0.01 et seq. Section 15.4a requires consolidation of certain Emergency Telephone System Boards ("ETSBs"), Joint Emergency Telephone Boards, qualified governmental entities, and Public Safety Answering Points ("PSAPs"). Affected entities are required to consolidate by July 1, 2017. They are required to file a Consolidation Plan or a Request for Waiver by July 1, 2016. Hillside serves the Village of Hillside ("Village"), which is situated within a County with a population of at least 250,000, has a population of less than 25,000. Therefore, Hillside is required to consolidate so that the ETSB serves a population of no less than 25,000. Hillside requests a waiver from the consolidation requirement for a period of five years, on the grounds that consolidation is economically unreasonable. The requirements for waivers are set forth in Section 200(e) of 83 Ill. Adm. Code 1324 ("Part 1324") - Consolidation of 9-1-1 Emergency Systems. A hearing was held before a duly authorized Administrative Law Judge on September 1, 2016. Russell Wajda, Village Administrator, Joseph Lukaszek, Chief of Police for the Village, Joseph Beckwith, Village Communications Director, and Bill Heldt Village Information Technology Coordinator appeared on behalf of Hillside. John Hosteny, Legal Counsel for the Illinois State Police ("Department") and Marci Elliott, 9-1- 1 Project Manager for the Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator, appeared on behalf of the Department. II. WAIVER REQUEST A. Hillside Hillside's Request for Waiver is verified by Mr. Wajda. It includes a narrative statement describing the basis for the Request for Waiver ("Narrative"). The Narrative 16-W-177 states that Hillside purchased and installed a new phone system and E-9-1-1 system at a cost of $276,110 prior to the effective date of Section 15/4a of the Act. It states that Hillside has approved, but not purchased medical dispatch software for the 9-1-1 system. The Narrative indicates that if its Request for Waiver is granted, Hillside will reevaluate the medical dispatch system for eventual installation. The Narrative states that as the system ages and equipment must be replaced, within the next five to ten years, Hillside will reevaluate the prospect of merging rather than purchasing new equipment. The Narrative states that, according to the 2010 census, the population of the Village is 8,157 within a boundary of 3.18 square miles. It emphasizes that the Village is intersected by Interstate 290 ("I-290") and has the Interstate 294 ("I-294") Tollway as its western border. The Narrative indicates that the daily traffic on I-290 at I-294, averages in the range of 145,000 to 158,800 vehicles. It states that north of Roosevelt Road, daily traffic on I-294 averages between 130,400 to 159,300. The Narrative asserts that Hillside is the primary responder for emergency medial dispatch and fire calls. It notes that the Village is home to Proviso West High School, which has 2,007 students and that there are two cemeteries, two nursing homes and numerous businesses and industries within the Village. The Narrative states that Hillside has 8,003 emergency 9-1-1 calls and 26,308 external non-emergency calls in 2015. Mr. Wajda emphasizes that the Village's Board of Trustees had already purchased and contracted for the installation of new 9-1-1 equipment prior to the consolidation requirement being adopted. Mr. Beckwith testifies that the anticipated life of the new system is five to seven years. He states that Hillside spent $276,000 for the radio, 9-1-1, phone, and recording systems. He says the equipment is Next Generation 9-1-1 ("NG9- 1-1") capable so that when the State builds the Next Generation backbone, Hillside can connect with it. Mr. Wajda asserts that, if one of the purposes of the statute is to have cost efficiencies, keeping the system Hillside currently has in operation, at least for the short term, would be prudent. Mr. Wajda indicates that the Village negotiated for six to seven months with a neighboring municipality, Berkeley, to bring it into its ETSB, but that Berkeley had decided to go another way. He says Hillside is negotiating with Cook County, but if an agreement is reached, it would take time to implement that consolidation. He states Hillside is concerned that because Cook County has no experience dispatching for fire, it would not be able to safely and efficiently dispatch fire. Mr. Beckwith asserts that dispatching for fire and emergency medical dispatch requires different skills and knowledge. Mr. Beckwith testifies that if Hillside were consolidated with Cook County, it could not use any of its newly purchased equipment. Mr. Wajda states that Cook County has its own staff. He says that Cook County indicated it would consider interviews for some of the Hillside dispatchers and, if they passed the test, would put them on its hiring list. Mr. Wajda states that even if the Hillside call center were closed, staffing would probably remain the same, but staff would likely be paid less. He explains that the Village would need staff to monitor prisoners until their bond hearing. He says Cook County does not accept the prisoners until, it is determined at the bond hearing they will be held there. He states the staff would also be needed to answer nonemergency calls. 2 16-W-177 Chief Lukaszek testifies that one of the biggest issues from an administrative perspective is the cost. He states that Cook County gave Hillside a ballpark figure of $400,000 per year to consolidate with it. He asserts that proposed annual cost is a minimum of $200,000 more than what Hillside is currently paying. He states that an additional $200,000 of costs would have a huge impact on his budget. Mr. Beckwith notes that the $200,000 annual cost is operational only; it does not include other expenses. Mr. Beckwith estimates that Hillside has received $60,000 to $100,000 for 9-1-1 per year for the last five or six years. When asked if that money would go towards the $400,000 annual fee, Mr. Wajda states that Cook County said it will take 50% off the top. He says Hillside will only have the remaining 50% to contribute toward the post consolidation operations expense. Chief Lukaszek states that a neighboring community Westchester is also considering consolidating with Cook and that it was offered a much lower fee based on call volume. Chief Lukaszek estimates that Westchester receives 18,000 or 19,000 calls per year. He says that Westchester will pay less because it has more 9-1-1 funds, he estimates double or triple, coming to it. He also says that Westchester receives more funds because it has a larger population and has six business towers, one of which he believes hosts a phone company. Chief Lukaszek asserts that Hillside receives about 28,000 calls per year and 8,000 9-1-1 calls. He says that Hillside receives so many calls because three main arteries into and out of Chicago, I-290, I-88, and I-294, pass through it. He says Hillside assists the State Police with accidents, motorist assists, ambulance calls, fire calls, and anything else imaginable. He says the Village just incorporated a portion of I-294 so it expects the call volume to increase. Mr. Wajda states that while the tollways and expressways are under the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois, it has no fire department. So, he asserts, Hillside responds to any type of rescue, vehicle fire, or accident. He states that more often than not, the Villages police and fire are first on the scene to extricate and/or transport victims. He reiterates Hillside's concerns about whether the County could handle the fire calls. Mr. Beckwith asserts that the calls from the interstates are just one facet of the 9-1-1 call volume. He states Hillside receives a lot of calls from the daytime population, whether from businesses or factories. Chief Lukaszek states that Norcom dispatches for some of the other communities in Hillside's radio network. He asserts that several times over the last months there have been incidents when Norcom was not sure of the location of a 9-1-1 call and the call disappeared. He gives an example of a person in the community having a heart attack and calling 9-1-1. He says the individual indicated that he was at 'Fresh Meadows,' but the dispatcher had no idea where that was and basically ignored the call. He asserts that Hillside received a call asking, 'where is my ambulance,' ten minutes later. He indicates that the call was made from a cell phone and that Norcom does not have Phase 2 or an automatic location identifier ("ALI"). He indicates that Cook County does have Phase 2. Mr. Wajda indicates that it is not clear the problem would have been alleviated by Cook County having Phase 2 because it is unknown how the call went to Norcom. He says the call was a 9-1-1 within the Village boundary and should have come to the Hillside dispatch center.