Los Gatos 'Public Health Crisis': Police Face Dispatcher Shortage

LOS GATOS, CA — The town of Los Gatos is facing a police dispatcher shortage, a situation that the president of the police union last week deemed a “public health crisis” as frustrations boiled over at a recent Town Council meeting.

The Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department currently has four full-time dispatchers for its 24-hour emergency dispatch center to serve over 30,000 residents, Town Manager Laurel Prevetti told Patch on Thursday.

Bryan Paul, president of the Los Gatos Police Officers Association, said last week that the remaining dispatchers were all working overtime hours, burnt out and exploring leaving the department. The town has the budget for eight dispatchers, but four dispatchers have either resigned or retired since July 2020, two more dispatcher trainees resigned and the town administration has been slow to fill the spots, according to Paul.

In a staff report ahead of the Sept. 7 meeting, the town admitted the situation was “not sustainable,” placing dispatchers “at risk for burn-out, illness, and safety issues due to lack of rest.” But it could also endanger public safety because a dispatcher working alone can’t answer two calls at once, according to Paul.

“It’s an easy thing to cover up and say, ‘Oh, there’s no issue, because we haven’t heard of an issue,’” Paul said in an interview with Patch. “Because maybe the other person who called in gave up on calling or called back 10 minutes later. We don’t know what the service level drop is because there's only one person answering phones. And we can only answer a phone one at a time.”

'Life Or Death Situation'

Los Gatos receives more calls per capita for mental health crises than any other jurisdiction in Santa Clara County, according to Kelly Campbell, a former dispatcher who resigned this month after eight years in Los Gatos. Those calls usually require more “patience, empathy and time,” Campbell wrote in a letter published on the police union’s website.

A typical response time to a call is less than one ring, but “when working solo, there are occasions where the lines ring much longer, simply because we cannot answer all calls at once,” Campbell said.

Even with eight full-time dispatchers, there would be up to four hours a day in which 911 calls were being manned by a single dispatcher, according to Paul. At the time she left, Campbell said, shifts were at least 12 hours long, with two shifts requiring six hours as a solo dispatcher.

“Operating at half staff for nearly a year is unacceptable,” Campbell said. “This is a life or death situation and could lead to unnecessary tragedy by exhaustion if we cannot recruit and retain qualified people.”

At the Sept. 7 meeting, the council approved a resolution to move quickly to “keep the function continuously staffed,” which includes recruiting dispatchers from other police departments to work part time for Los Gatos. The resolution increased pay for such “per diem” dispatchers.

“There has been communication about our dispatch service, so we are putting plans into motion to make sure that we have the support that our dispatch center deserves,” Prevetti said at the meeting. “We are here to serve you. We are absolutely committed to our community values of compassion and really making sure that all residents and businesses get the items that they need.”

Los Gatos is “actively recruiting to fill the remaining vacancies with interviews occurring later this month,” with two dispatchers in training and a conditional job offer made to another candidate, Prevetti later said in a statement to Patch on Thursday. She emphasized that the dispatch center is “full operational, 24/7 to handle emergency and non-emergency calls” and “offers a high level of customer service to all callers.”

The department is also dealing with uncertainty at the top, with Peter Decena stepping down as police chief earlier this month, announced in a short news release that did not state a reason for the departure. Decena declined an interview with Patch, stating in an email that he would like to “avoid making comments regarding matters for which I am no longer responsible.” Prevetti said that Decena “voluntarily resigned” and declined to comment further on personnel matters.

Related: Los Gatos Police Chief To Resign

Decena added that he was confident in Interim Police Chief Clint Tada’s guidance to help the department “overcome the staffing issues afflicting almost all police agencies across the nation.” Tada did not respond to a request for comment.

Paul accused the town administration of intentionally neglecting to replace vacant positions in the police department in favor of saving money. He said there have been times where Decena made hires to the department behind the town manager’s back, hoping she wouldn’t “find out.”

“We are experiencing a crisis,” Paul said. “That crisis needs to be addressed at all levels — the town manager level especially. She hasn’t taken responsibility for this at all, and I find that a little unusual, maybe a little disingenuous.”

Prevetti said that “the Town is committed to its high quality Dispatch Center and is pursuing a variety of strategies to address the current shortage.” She added that the police chief is responsible for succession planning, including monitoring upcoming retirements, determining when to start recruitments and working with human resources to fill vacancies. When the dispatcher vacancies were brought to Prevetti’s attention, the town “swiftly developed a response,” Prevetti said.

“The Chief is accountable for the use of the Police Department’s budgeted funds, including the filling vacant budgeted positions,” Prevetti said. “The Town has not implemented any hiring freezes or other budgetary measures requiring any Department (including Police) not to spend the money allocated in the budget.”

Paul proposed that the town increase dispatcher salary by 9 percent to match the median pay for dispatchers in Santa Clara County’s 12 public safety agencies. He also wants a condition written into the town's memorandum of understanding with the police union that the town will immediately begin interviewing candidates once the number of dispatchers dips below a certain number.

The town is set to meet in closed session next Tuesday with the police officers' association regarding unspecified labor negotiations.

Tempers Flare

The situation came to a head at the Sept. 7 town council meeting, when Paul addressed the council about the dispatcher shortage during public comment with a crowd of supporters in the room. More than 30 emails were sent to the council concerning the staffing shortage prior to the meeting.

Mayor Marico Sayoc, who did not respond to a request for comment, attempted to cut off Paul after three minutes, but she was heckled. Paul then turned around to address the attendees without the microphone, to which Sayoc responded by calling for a recess, slamming the gavel three times and walking out of the room. The official minutes indicate the meeting was stopped “due to disruptive conduct in the audience.” A video posted on Rumble shows a group of mask-less attendees arguing with a city official and a police officer, chanting “Recall” as they walk away.

About an hour later, the council returned, with Sayoc apologizing for the “interruption” and resuming the meeting.

“I want to thank our police department for assistance tonight,” Sayoc said.