Politics & Government
City Ready to Fight County Over Who Handles 911 Calls
Citing concerns over a potential loss of life in emergencies, Muskego says its ready to file a claim against Waukesha County — and even go to court — to take over wireless 911 service.
The ongoing battle between Muskego and Waukesha County over who should handle 911 calls from cell phones escalated Tuesday night when aldermen took steps to file a formal claim against the county — a move that could set up a legal battle.
People who call 911 from a cell phone in Muskego are currently routed to the Waukesha County Communications Center first, then routed to Muskego police to dispatch responders. The city has maintained these
In fact, a resolution passed Tuesday cites an instance from August when a 57-second delay was experienced in such a call. The patient was unresponsive when responders had reached him, and ultimately died.
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The county has maintained that the response times are not as long as Muskego has stated, and that the likelihood for misrouted calls could also create a delay should Muskego handle its own 911 service for cellular calls
Richard Tuma, director of emergency preparedness for the county, has stated the technology is still not an exact science, and that to allow for every municipality to handle their own service could result in misrouted calls throughout the county.
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The city also has filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission over the issue, but has yet to receive a response.
Now the Common Council has essentially put the county on notice if it continues to refuse to hand over access to the cellular routes, which would allow 911 calls from cell phones to be directed to city dispatchers. It unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to file a claim with the county by June 1.
If the county denies the claim or fails to act, the city is prepared to seek further legal action through an injunction to gain access to the cellular routes.
The move came after a closed session meeting with Muskego Police Chief Paul Geiszler and John Wisniewski, the city's IT director who has been the architect of the upgrades required to handle the wireless service. Since 2007, the city has spent $219,000 on these enhancements.
County officials have not yet responded to requests for comment.
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