ST.

LAWRENCE COUNTY
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES
48 Court Street
Canton, New York 13617-1169

VOICE (315) 379-2240 FAX (315) 379-0681

September 28th, 2020

Ogdensburg City Council

330 Ford Street
Ogdensburg, NY 13669

Ogdensburg City Council,

In reference to the Ogdensburg City Council resolution titled “RESOLUTION DIRECTING

THE TRANSFER OF DISPATCH SERVICES TO ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY”; this letter
shall overview the challenges that shall arise by authorizing a quick and unplanned transfer
of dispatch services to the St. Lawrence County Office of Emergency Services.

Personnel
St. Lawrence County Office of Emergency Services Central Dispatch operates 24/7, with a
total of twenty-two (22) employees, which includes twelve (12) full-time Dispatchers, three
(3) part time Dispatchers, three (3) Supervising Dispatchers, one (1) Supervisor of Dispatch
Operations, one (1) Administrative Assistant, one (1) Deputy Director/EMS Coordinator,
and one (1) Director/Fire Coordinator.

On any given shift, there are at least three (3) dispatchers on duty, with four (4) being on
duty during statistical call volume peaks. The dispatchers on duty share responsibilities of
911 call-taking, Fire/EMS radio operator, St. Lawrence County Sheriff dispatching, State
Police Dispatching, Norwood Police Dispatching, and Norfolk Police Dispatching.

In order to accommodate the additional call volume as well as radio transmissions from the
Ogdensburg Police Department, at least four (4) additional full-time dispatchers must be
hired in order to ensure officer and public safety. These dispatchers, even if transitioning
from Ogdensburg Police Dispatch, must be certified as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher,
complete a twelve (12) month probationary period, and be shadowed by Dispatch Trainers
to learn our current system and day-to-day operations.

Matthew Denner Sr., Director

Jonathan Mitchell, Deputy Director
Dispatch Equipment and Location
St. Lawrence County Office of Emergency Services Central Dispatch currently operates on
four (4) full dispatch positions. Our current full dispatch positions include the following
equipment: Motorola MCC5500 Radio Console, West Safety Viper Phone terminal, three
(3) computer towers, and six (6) computer monitors.

In order to accommodate the additional personnel required to operate a safe and effective
dispatch center, additional floor space and equipment is required. Our current dispatch
center cannot accommodate the additional dispatch position required to appropriately
dispatch the Ogdensburg Police Department.

Radio System: Our current radio system, the Motorola MCC5500, is no longer supported.
To expand and add another dispatch position, a full radio system upgrade is required at
both the Primary and Backup Dispatch Centers to the MCC7500. With Ogdensburg Police
Department’s own problems with reaching your units in field via radio we would have to do
the same from Canton and Massena. A new system would have to be built and tested
before going live.

Phone System: Our current phone system, West Safety Viper, is no longer supported. To
expand and add another dispatch position, a full phone system upgrade is required at both
the Primary and Backup Dispatch Centers. In order to accommodate additional
administrative lines (Ogdensburg Police phone lines), additional AIM cards, programming,
and repurposing of the phone system would also have to be completed.

FCC Licensing: The FCC license for the Ogdensburg Police frequency must be amended
for dispatchers located in Canton and Massena to legally transmit; without this amendment,
St. Lawrence County would be subjected to legal action from the FCC.

St. Lawrence County Dispatch Discovery/ COVID-19 Locations updates

Currently, the three (3) Supervising Dispatchers complete all discovery requests for Law
Enforcement Agencies, the District Attorney’s Office, and the County Attorney’s Office.
Completing a discovery request requires that the Supervising Dispatcher be removed from
his/her post in the Dispatch Center and sift through hours of radio logs and transmissions,
complaints, phone logs and calls, and CAD Cards to supply the necessary information to
the requesting entity. This does not include the time spent if the information provided by the
requesting entity is incorrect. On average, a minor incident (Traffic Stop Arrest, Simple
Complaint) requires about 15-30 minutes to complete, and a major incident (Serious PI,
Homicide, Failure to Comply, Multi-Day Incident) requires hours to complete.

Matthew Denner Sr., Director

Jonathan Mitchell, Deputy Director
St. Lawrence County Backup Dispatch Center
St. Lawrence County Office of Emergency Services Backup Dispatch Center currently
operates three (3) full dispatch positions. This backup center is a vital part of our operation
in the event that the Primary Center has a catastrophic failure, or a bug-out is required.

Conclusion
In closing no one is arguing the fact that it would not be the best move to consolidate
Ogdensburg PD dispatch with the county PSAP. The fact that I am raising concern is the
timeliness of this move. I felt that a year was pushing it close to achieve, but 3 months
would defiantly pose many risks.

St. Lawrence County Office of Emergency Services highly recommends to the City of
Ogdensburg that we address all of the above concerns prior to consolidating dispatch
centers. Abrupt consolidation of dispatch would be detrimental to public safety not only to
the residents and visitors of the City of Ogdensburg, but to St. Lawrence County as a whole
as well as our law enforcement officers in the field. This consolidation must be carefully
planned in order to be successfully executed.

Respectfully,

Matthew Denner
Director/Fire Coordinator
St Lawrence County Emergency Services

Matthew Denner Sr., Director

Jonathan Mitchell, Deputy Director