Allegheny County 911 could get millions in new funding under proposed Shapiro budget

Beleaguered 911 call centers across Pennsylvania could soon see millions of dollars in new funding as part of a budget proposal offered last month by Gov. Josh Shapiro.

The centers receive much or all of their funding through a 2015 law that added a $1.65 monthly fee, or $19.80 per year, to state residents’ phone bills. The governor seeks to hike the monthly fee to $2.03, or $24.36 per year, which could increase Allegheny County’s funding next year by about 19%, from $24.1 million to $28.6 million.

Shapiro said at a news conference held late last month in eastern Pennsylvania that investing in public safety is one of his top priorities. Under his proposal, the fee would automatically increase in future years based on inflation.

“Pennsylvanians need to know when they make that call, and they ask for that police officer, that mental health professional, EMS, whoever it is, they need to know that call is going to be answered and the right personnel are going to be dispatched,” he said. “That’s why I’m particularly concerned that our 911 centers are so understaffed.”

Matt Brown, Allegheny County’s emergency services chief, told the Union Progress that the county has never obtained enough money solely through the phone bill fee to operate its 911 system, and a fee increase would “bring us that much closer to being able to be fully funded.”

“All of our money that we receive through that funding right now go toward salary and benefits only — and doesn’t fully account for that, even,” he said.

Shapiro’s proposed fee increase could help the many emergency call centers in Pennsylvania, including the one run by Allegheny County, which have seen increased staff turnover since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. A drop in the number of workers locally has forced those left behind to pick up overtime, such as stretching shifts during particularly tough staffing periods from eight hours to 12 or even 16 hours, in some cases on a mandatory basis.

Staffing issues came to a head last year when workers, who along with many other county employees are members of SEIU Local 668, planned a one-day strike to take place the same day as Pittsburgh’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Further negotiations led to agreement on a contract, which averted a strike.

Steve Catanese, the president of SEIU Local 668, said the new money should be put toward recruitment and retention efforts.

“The biggest way to do that is to raise wages in a real, serious and transformational way for a lot of these jobs,” he said. “I don’t think most people that get into public service like this expect to be rich, but they want to be able to pay the bills and retire.”

Catanese added that he thinks the combination of flatlined funding for 911 centers since the original introduction of the phone bill fee, and the rise of inflation in recent years, has resulted in a funding cut — something he said needed to be reversed quickly. He is also pushing for workers to have access to “wraparound services,” such as mental health counseling, which he said is available for firefighters and other emergency workers.

“It’s deeply important that these funding mechanisms move, and that tie [to future changes in inflation] is part of a big start, but it’s not a complete finish,” he said.

A review of employee information available through the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center showed a significant increase in turnover at the county’s 911 center among call-takers and dispatchers, who are both formally known as telecommunication officers or TCOs.

Overtime costs have also been on the rise. After hovering around $3 million for the past few years, TCO overtime essentially doubled in a year to $6.07 million in 2022. Overtime for the shift commanders who oversee TCOs also increased significantly between 2021 and 2022, nearly doubling to about $165,000.

Brown said much of the overtime is caused by what he described as the “extensive training” required for newer employees. For example, trainers are required to shadow newer TCOs as they start answering their first emergency calls, which temporarily leads to “duplicating efforts.”

He added that much of the overtime is among the “low” number of dispatchers — TCOs who have received additional training and know to both answer emergency calls as well as communicate by radio with first responders. Brown said the county is moving to get newer TCOs, who at first can only answer emergency calls, the further instruction needed to dispatch fire, police or medical teams.

“We’re heavy on the call-takers because we have a lot of fresh, new TCOs to the room, but now we have to be overly aggressive to get them each to acquire some of these other dispatch qualifications,” he said.

On top of stress from the pandemic, workers were also continuing to adjust to the call center moving from Pittsburgh’s East End to a new location near Pittsburgh International Airport in western Allegheny County. Catanese said the move “massively changed” the commute of some workers and led to them departing for other jobs.

In response to the shortage of workers and new call center location, Allegheny County Council approved an ordinance last year that would exempt TCOs and shift commanders from a requirement to live in the county, expanding the group of people who could apply for the jobs.

Brown said the change is one of several moves made by the county to recruit and retain employees, and already sees it making a difference. Training classes held since the change have seen many applicants from out of the county or even the state.

“Quite frankly, we’ve got folks from Ohio and West Virginia that have a better transit to that office than I do, because of their location,” he said. “We have been successful at recruiting in those areas. We’ve advertised heavily in those areas, as well.”

Brown said he thinks staffing is now “in a very good place,” despite the county remaining below its target number of employees.

“It continues to be a staffing challenge, but we feel that we’re doing much better now, that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.