[Scan-DC] Dropped D.C. 9-1-1 calls?

[Alan Henney]

Washington Examiner
Published on Washington Examiner (http://washingtonexaminer.com)

Mayor was warned of safety issues before furlough triggered dropped 911 calls

Andrew Harnik/Examiner

The D.C. mayor's office was warned that furloughing 911 emergency call-takers could harm public safety -- weeks before nearly 200 calls went unanswered Feb. 22 because the furlough stripped the call center of employees.

In December, the D.C. Council approved four furlough days for District employees, leaving them without pay on national holidays to save the city $19 million. Police officers, and fire and rescue workers were exempt, but dispatchers at the 911 call center were required to take the time off. In the weeks before the first furlough day, the union representing the call-takers pleaded with members of the Vincent Gray administration to exempt them, too. Those pleas went unanswered.

On Feb. 22 the workers took their leave from midnight to 6 a.m. and nearly 200 calls were dropped, city officials confirmed. Due to the furlough, the usual complement of 16 dispatchers dropped to three during that time, an e-mail from union president Lee Blackmon to Gray administration officials said.

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Source URL: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/02/mayor-was-warned-safety-issues-furlough-triggered-dropped-911-calls