DATE: November 15, 2022
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Manager, Fire Chief, and Police Chief
SUBJECT
Title
Dispatch Needs Assessment and Capacity Improvement: Presentation of Consultant Evaluation and Recommendations
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That Council:
1. Receives a presentation from Federal Engineering Consultants on the City of Hayward Communications Center: Assessment and Strategy Implementation Plan Report (Dispatch Needs Assessment - Attachment II) and HEART Program Data Analysis Recommendations Report (Attachment III); and
2. Reviews and discusses recommendations presented (both from staff and the consultants) and provides direction to include staff’s recommendations in the mid-year budget for Council approval.End
SUMMARY
On May 18, 2021, Council received recommendations from the Public Safety Policy Innovation Workshop process. As a result, Council directed staff to begin implementing nine of the pilot projects in FY22 and authorized a budget allocation to support the projects. One significant project identified was to complete a Dispatch Needs Assessment and Capacity Improvement Plan (Needs Assessment) to support the new public safety projects and initiatives.
In October 2021, the City entered into a contract with Federal Engineering Consulting (FE) to conduct the Needs Assessment and develop a five-year strategic plan. The City expanded the scope of FE’s contract to include business process analysis of the City’s current dispatch and data systems in order to support the successful implementation and ongoing operation of the Hayward Evaluation and Response Teams (HEART) program.
FE has prepared a high-level overview of their findings from the Needs Assessment for the City’s dispatch center, referred to as the Hayward Call Center (HCC), as identified in the “High-Level Strategic Implementation Plan” in Attachment II. The Strategic Implementation Plan outlines a roadmap that identifies six areas of focus with prioritized next steps for the HCC and its leadership.
Staff recommends that all staffing, staffing support efforts, and recruitment initiatives be prioritized based on departmental and organizational needs. Today, HCC has 33 authorized full time equivalent (FTE) positions, of which only 24 are filled. At this point, staff recommends that six (6) new positions be added (in addition to filling all vacancies), which is the minimum necessary to begin implementation of new call processing protocols recommended by FE within the physical space constraints of the existing HCC facility.
Additionally, staff recommends prioritizing implementation of the following high priority FE recommendations:
• Implementation of additional training for HCC staff;
• Implementation of call processing protocols and training; and
• Implementation of a new Quality Assurance (QA)/Quality Improvement (QI) Program, including a Coordinator position.
FE has additionally prepared a HEART Program Data Analysis Recommendations Report (HEART Report), which proposes recommendations in four major areas: (1) System Mapping; (2) Mental Health Specific Call Assessments; (3) Diversion of Eligible Calls; and (4) Data Reporting and Sharing. The full report can be found in Attachment III.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report
Attachment II Dispatch Needs Assessment
Attachment III HEART Program Data Analysis Recommendations Report