Fiscal Note
No appropriation is required to complete the report.
Title
Authorizing the Madison Fire Department to report on a method of cross jurisdictional dispatching,
Body
Whereas, the City of Madison, under Wisconsin law, is the only body authorized to allow cross-jurisdictional dispatch or "border dropping" by the Madison Fire Department, that would allow other jurisdictions fire departments to serve within the City or the City's Fire Department to serve in other jurisdictions; and
Whereas, the Madison Fire Department represents an infrastructure of stations, equipment, and facilities valued at $32,444,897 and an annual 2014 operating budget of $ 45,768,814 almost entirely paid for by City of Madison taxpayers; and
Whereas there are numerous issues involved in any plan of cross-jurisdictional dispatch, including:
(a) Recognizing that the closest units to an incident may not be the quickest to arrive, therefore requiring a dispatch system that works on the fastest unit to a scene, rather than distance.
(b) Equities in terms of reciprocal service so that when Madison is providing a full time professional service, the City does not receive a lesser service in return
(c) Recognizing that no matter who is first dispatched, that a City of Madison unit will always be dispatched to a City of Madison incident.
(d) Recognizing that border dropping' will probably not effect more than 2 or 3% of all calls that come into the Dane County Dispatch Center.
(e) Recognizing that 'border dropping' will not fix the significant delays in the over whelming majority of dispatched emergency calls that originate from a range of problems including staffing shortages, morale problems, and time consuming protocols.
Whereas, the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Madison wish to examine the impact and consequences of "border dropping" in dispatching emergency medical and fire services.
Now therefore be it resolved that the City of Madison Fire Chief shall examine and report on the prospects for cross-jurisdictional dispatch or border dropping, and shall present the report by March 1, 2015, to the Public Safety Review Committee, Common Council Organizational Committee, the Board of Estimates, and the Mayor and Common Council