County's Answers Don't Wash With Muskego Police Chief

Richard Tuma, Waukesha County Director of Emergency Preparedness, spoke with Patch prior to the Public Service Committee meeting on Wednesday, and the answers he had in response to our inquiries of why the county was denying Muskego access to reroute cell calls to its own dispatch center were scoffed at by Police Chief Paul Geiszler.

"I wouldn't take any creedence in what he is saying," Geiszler said. "I have found his information to be suspect, and I just wouldn't believe what he's telling you."

"The County’s 9-1-1 center has a larger capacity to handle calls for service since there are no fewer than 8 employees to answer and process calls for service," Tuma explained.

However, John Wisniewski, IT Director pointed out that the ratio of dispatchers to the coverage area is 1 to 64,000 at the Waukesha County Communications Center; in Muskego, where 2 dispatchers are on duty 24/7, it's 1 to 12,000.

Geiszler also stated that "bigger in this case isn't better.  There are recurring problems - wrong addresses and the time delay - that remain with the WCCC. I have one city administrator who tells me he has three binders full of complaints since 2005, and that patrol cops have stopped filing them because it doesn't make a difference."

Tuma also explained, "WCCC dispatchers are all trained in providing emergency medical pre-arrival instructions. Because of this staffing its allows one dispatcher to stay on the line providing these life saving instructions while others answer other 9-1-1 calls or dispatch resources."

Geiszler informed the committee that all dispatchers have also been trained as emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs), which eliminates that argument.

Tuma's argument that "residents that live in the city also live in the County and the County Board designated the WCC dispatch center to be the answering point for wireless 9-1-1 calls for the County," may be interpreted as a 'because we said so' answer.

Geiszler is confident that the county's case overall is weak, as a state statute (256.35(3m)(c)6.a) gives the city the right to establish its own public safety answering point (PSAP) without intervention or denial by the county.

Wisniewski said this is a rare case, as cellular companies told him that they've never encountered two PSAPs that would not work together.