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New 911 computer system under fire

Thursday, November 4, 1999

By Kristina Riggle TIMES WRITER

A 21/2-hour meeting Wednesday night culminated in demands that Bay County's year-old computer dispatch system be dumped, but County Executive Thomas L. Hickner wasn't ready to agree.

"I am not convinced at this point the solution is to dump the current system. ... I'm not saying that it is not an option," he said.

The meeting was supposed to be a gathering of Bay County township supervisors to discuss problems with the New World Systems combined dispatch and record-keeping system. Hickner asked to attend, and then word spread about the meeting through local news media.

So about 30 people gathered as spectators in the Bangor Township Fire Department Wednesday night, including Bay County 911 dispatchers, firefighters, officials from earlier days of Bay County 911 and Vincent C. Major, who was fired by Hickner last week as director of Central Dispatch.

After dispatchers shared tales of wrong addresses and incomplete information provided by the New World system, some supervisors and dispatchers suggested scrapping the system altogether.

Pinconning Township Supervisor Sharon Stalsberg was one of them.

"There is definitely a problem with the equipment, and it's time to stop trying to put Band-Aids on it," she said.

Michael J. Campbell, Bangor Township supervisor, also told Hickner to scrap it.

"You're hearing from the experts," he said, referring to the dispatchers.

Kelly Jean, a dispatcher and president of the Bay County Sheriff's Deputies Association, said the New World System doesn't measure up to the information the old system had. For instance, she said, to find a particular address on South Huron Road she used to just type it in. Now, she has to hit "page down" 14 times.

"You can train us until you're blue in the face. ... It's not our fault the new system doesn't do what the old system did," she said.

Jane Kneller, a Bay County dispatcher for almost 15 years, summed up her view of the problem.

"It's a record-keeping system. It is not a dispatch system."

According to the Bay County Finance Department, purchasing the New World software and hardware cost taxpayers $360,917. About one-third of the funding came from the county's general fund, and the rest came from the Bay County 911 millage.

Officials have said the idea behind purchasing New World was to connect all the police and fire agencies to Central Dispatch with one record-keeping and dispatch system. It was also supposed to make it easier for system operators to make corrections and add new addresses and streets.

Ken Nickel, who retired in 1991 as the Central Dispatch director, said he looked at New World during his tenure. Nickel said he checked the system out with other communities that use it.

"Not one of them would have bought it again," he said, noting, however, that they would not put those comments in writing.

While complaints about the system abounded Wednesday night, permanent solutions were in short supply. Hickner said new printers are coming soon that should solve the problem of fire departments not getting "rip and run" sheets with information about emergency scenes. Hickner also said officials are working on the incomplete address database problem, and trying to improve communication.

Some of the township officials suggested an authority or board of directors be set up, similar to one that existed in the 1980s. An advisory board exists, but officials said is poorly attended by township officials, some of whom feel their input is not valued.

Hickner pointed out that the move to a county executive system of government in 1979 meant that, by state law, all special boards and commissions were abolished. Some boards, such as library boards that are set up under state statute, are excepted, said Michael K. Gray, executive assistant to Hickner.

Based on that, Hickner said he would fight an attempt to create such a board or authority.

He did entertain the possibility of nontechnical representation on the technical committee, which now is made up of people directly involved in police or fire services. The Board of Commissioners rejected that idea earlier this year.

"The key issue is to make sure we have excellent communication between the other units of local government and the county, and in particular the 911 system," Hickner said.

Stalsberg, president of the Bay County Township Officers Association, said she was glad word of the meeting got out so she could hear the dispatchers' thoughts.

"What I think we need to do is see what Mr. Hickner is going to do ... maybe convey to our own commissioners what our viewpoints are on the system so everybody knows," she said after the meeting.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), November 05, 1999

Answers

First, thanks Homer. You do a great service.

Second, I've always felt that the 911 system problems were being used by the Fed as distraction. It's not that a failing 911 system won't cost lives, it's that everybody clearly remembers when we didn't have one and life still proceeded fairly smoothly (for most). Consequently, in the back of everyone's mind is, "We'll muddle through." Nobody can say that about hospitals, Wall St., oil, electricity, etc.

-- Dave (aaa@aaa.com), November 05, 1999.

Yet another article about taxpayer $$ down the drain with an inefficient new system that clogs the wheels. Don't any of these folks TEST DRIVE these systems beforehand? Don't the designers know what they're to be used for? Y2K sure exposes the rampant design flaws idiotizing our society ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 05, 1999.

"Y2K sure exposes the rampant design flaws idiotizing our society ..."

Pardon my confusion, but how does Y2K eneter in to this at all? This is a n article about bad software. It is clear that this software was bad years ago for other users, and it is clear that it is bad now for these users. It is also clear that the fact that the software is bad has not one single solitary thing to do with Y2K. It's just bad.

The world is replete with bad software, just as it is replete with bad newspapers, bad cars, bad doctors, bad lawyers, bad yo-yo's, bad watches, etc. If that's your point, fine. But don't even try to tie this piece of junk to Y2K, cuz' it just isn't so.

Come to think of it, why post this here at all Homer?

-- Paul Neuhardt (neuhardt@ultranet.com), November 05, 1999.

neuhardt wrote:

[snip]

"Y2K sure exposes the rampant design flaws idiotizing our society ..."

Pardon my confusion, but how does Y2K eneter in to this at all? This is a n article about bad software. It is clear that this software was bad years ago for other users, and it is clear that it is bad now for these users. It is also clear that the fact that the software is bad has not one single solitary thing to do with Y2K. It's just bad.

The world is replete with bad software, just as it is replete with bad newspapers, bad cars, bad doctors, bad lawyers, bad yo-yo's, bad watches, etc. If that's your point, fine. But don't even try to tie this piece of junk to Y2K, cuz' it just isn't so. Come to think of it, why post this here at all Homer?

-- Paul Neuhardt (neuhardt@ultranet.com), November 05, 1999.

[end text]

another polly that doesn't "see" the "Y2K forest" with all these hastily implemented and poorly tested systems "falling" like dominos. THESE SYSTEMS ARE REPLACING Y2K NON-COMPLIANT SYSTEMS *ALL AT 'ONCE'*, neuhardt!

GET IT?

these idiot polly's are really annoying...

-- Y2Ktransient (Lurking@lowcrawler.com), November 05, 1999.

another polly that doesn't "see" the "Y2K forest" with all these hastily implemented and poorly tested systems "falling" like dominos. THESE SYSTEMS ARE REPLACING Y2K NON-COMPLIANT SYSTEMS *ALL AT 'ONCE'*, neuhardt! GET IT? these idiot polly's are really annoying...

When I made y2k upgrades, there were many other system changes that management wanted in addition to y2k. If you're going to make system changes anyway, why not make it better while you're at it? The problem becomes whether you've bitten off more than you can chew. I can see where this could happen. Additional changes on top of y2k can cause more delays. It just like the new TV program call Greed. You're taking a gamble with an immovable deadline. You may make it in time, but then again you may not.

-- Larry (cobol.programmer@usa.net), November 05, 1999.