NORCOM Principals Assembly

Transcription

Friday April 8, 2016 9 a.m.
Bellevue City Hall
1. Call to Order
2. Introductions
3. Approval of 4/10/2015 Minutes
4. NORCOM Employee Recognition
5. State of NORCOM
6. 2015 Financial Overview
7. Proposed Budget Policy for 2017
*the monthly NORCOM Governing Board meeting will commence immediately following the Principals Assembly
Meeting Minutes
Bellevue City Hall – Room 1E-108
April 10, 2015
Governing Board & Principals Assembly Representatives Present: Pam Bissonnette, Jim
Roepke, Bill Archer, Kurt Triplett, Steve Burns, Noel Treat, Bob Larson, Mark Correira,
David Burke, Bud Backer, Chris Connor, Jim Torpin, Matt Cowan, Greg Ahearn, Steve
Heitman, Claudia Balducci, Harry Oestreich, Ken Callahan, Jerry Smith, and Larry Rude.
1. Call to Order
The NORCOM Principals Assembly was called to order by Kurt Triplett, Governing Board
Chair, at 9:00 a.m. on April 10, 2015.
2. Introductions
Kurt Triplett initiated roundtable introductions of Principals Assembly Representatives,
Governing Board Representatives and NORCOM staff.
3. Approval of 2014 Principals Assembly Minutes
David Burke made a motion to approve the minutes from the April 11, 2014 Principals
Assembly Meeting. Motion carried.
4. NORCOM Employee Recognition
King County EMS
Dr. Eisenberg gave a brief overview of the history and future of cardiac arrest survival in
King County.
Amy Warrior presented the EMS sustained award to Angel Francois in absentia. Amanda
Coggins was nominated. The Critical Incident award was presented to Margaux Lallas.
Amanda Coggins and Chris Burdick were nominated.
NORCOM Employee Recognition
Tom Orr advised that two NORCOM employees were recipients of the State APCO
awards of the year. Jessica Cannon was selected for Sustained performance. Zeb Middle
was selected for Technology member of the year Zeb Middleton. Josh Baker and Jami
Hoppen were also nominated. Nick Curry is a Smart911 finalist.
The following recipients were presented with awards by those by whom they were
nominated:
Jessica Cannon was selected as the telecommunicator of the year.
Josh Baker was selected as supervisor of the year.
Charlene Inman was selected as administrative employee of the year.
Zeb Middleton was selected as technology employee of the year.
Page 1 of 4
Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2015
The team award was given to the TriTech Mobile Upgrade Team, consisting of: Karen
Furuya, Khai Train, Zeb Middleton, Pete Luke, Ketan Vyas, Ed Whitford, Victor Lohr, and
Ken Knott..
The Edison award was given to Roky Louie.
Tom Orr presented Director Coins to Roky Louie and Nathan Way. Melissa Vieth was not
in attendance to receive her coin.
Tom Orr expressed gratitude to Tracy Dunlap for her servitude as past interim deputy
director and treasurer.
Heather Wong was thanked for her efforts in organizing the Principals Assembly.
5. State of NORCOM
Tom Orr announced that NORCOM reached its 5-year anniversary in July 2014.
Tom Orr spoke about NORCOM’s role in emergency communications. He advised that
NORCOM does not play a role in the infrastructure and routing of 911 calls. NORCOM’s
role is to answer the 911 calls once the State 911 office routes the calls to NORCOM.
NORCOM is funded through assessments by the participating agencies. 13% of funding
comes from the E911 office. The 800mhz radio system that NORCOM uses is owned by
EPSCA. There is an upcoming ballot to update this system.
Tom Orr played a few audio and visual clips to showcase the complexity of the work
NORCOM performs.
Tom Orr discussed NORCOM’s 2014 accomplishments, which included, $300K in medical
savings, a clean financial audit by the State Auditor’s office, 50% reduction in overtime
despite a reduction in full-time employees, 14.96 % increase in net available work hours,
$850K refund for New World ICRM contract, high marks during the triennial FBI/WSP
State Audit, implementation of Just Culture process, and the formation of the
Telecommunicator Emergency Response Team. The challenges faced by NORCOM in
2014 surrounded technology (NG911, NWS ICRM Contract), funding from E911 taxes, a
security breach of an FTP server, and competing for talented telecommunicators with
the private sector and other PSAPs.
Orr discussed the difference between basic and enhanced 911 services, which included
visual presentations of a typical dispatch console. Technology and Funding present the
most challenges and risks moving forward. Public safety first, technology second. Since
2005, the E911 office has spent $30million on NG-911.
Page 2 of 4
Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2015
Smart911 discussion ensued. It is currently installed at NORCOM, but is not functional
due to a lack of security. NORCOM’s CAD system is completely closed to the internet,
which is a requirement to running this program. The KC911 office is currently working
on a new system to allow phones access to the internet. Wireless call routing was
presented as a challenge today as well as moving forward.
Funding was discussed. Most of the funding from 911 taxes is spent on technology. For
the first time, NORCOM faced a reduction in funding from the E911 office. NORCOM
was able to work with KC Council to prevent. Fund solvency, risky technology, and a lack
of collaboration have been ongoing discussions between NORCOM and the KC Council.
Is there any legislation to deal with the decline of landlines? The taxes were increased 3
years ago. Revenue is higher than it ever has been, but the allocation is mixed.
Performance
Orr gave an overview of the 2014 call volume for NORCOM. Measurements used for
performance include national and local standards. Orr spoke to quality assurance,
staffing, retention, hiring and training, agency requests and public disclosure. The
technology team performance was discussed, which includes projects, other, GIS,
maintenance, and help desk measurements. The joint integrated prioritization list was
discussed. In 2014, the bulk of technology project work was fire related.
Spoke to economics, budget by program, capital projects.
A five minute break was called at 1029.
6. 2014 Financial Overview
Gwen Pilo presented the summary of Net position. The 2014 Net position increased
approximately $100K from 2013. Unrestricted assets doubled from 2013 due to yearlong study of health benefit option, contracts, drastic reduction in overtime, vacant
positions in technology and training dollars untilized. Rate stabilization and operating
expense funds remained status quo. Capital equipment replacement solvent through
2023.
Liabilites increased 26% from 2013. Accounts payable –
Total assets.
In conclusion, NORCOM remains stable.
7. Proposed Budget Policy 2015
Page 3 of 4
Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2015
Revenue and expenditure policies. Capital projects, operating reserves and contingency
funds, accounting, auditing and financial policies. New programs will be presented for
approval as service level needs are identified.
Discuss risks and considerations – pull from past minutes and slides. Finance committee
to review user fee analysis.
Gwen Pilo discussed: the 2016 proposed budget policy was presented to the Joint
Operating Board who recommend it to the Governing Board. Performance measures
and core values guide NORCOM’s budget policy. The general financial goals are to
sustain consistent high quality service and to avoid using one time revenues for ongoing
costs. Operating reserves are 5% of the budget outside of salaries, which may change in
the future. The state auditor conducts an annual audit of NORCOM’s finances.
NORCOM uses a zero based budget strategy. The operating budget focuses on stability,
growth containment, service levels, reviewing workload and staffing model and
evaluating health insurance options. A timeline will be established for technology
service level agreements and an analysis of IT security will be completed as well. The
capital projects budget is focused on the TriTech upgrade, NWS upgrade and changes,
and the joint prioritized project list. There may be recommended changes to funding the
equipment replacement fund and the operating expense reserve.
No discussion.
Meeting adjourned at 10:47 am.
Approved by:
_________________________________________________
Chair
Attest: ___________________________________________
Secretary
Page 4 of 4
2015 Annual Report
Presented to the Principals
Assembly April 8, 2016
NORTH EAST KING COUNTY REGIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY
NORCOM MISSION
The core mission of NORCOM is to provide high quality emergency
service communications to the public for emergency medical
services, fire and police.
NORCOM carries out this mission by receiving calls for service;
dispatching resources in response to such calls; tracking and
coordinating information flow and resources to assist responders;
initiating records for all emergency events; and enhancing
effectiveness, efficiency, coordination and interoperability of
emergency service providers.
NORCOM
PO Box 50911 Bellevue, WA 98015
Phone: 425.577.5700 Fax: 425.577.5701
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message from the Executive Director
2
Message from the Governing Board Chair
4
Message from the Treasurer
5
Organizational Chart
6
Principal Representatives
7
Governing Board
8
Joint Operations Board
9
Background, Operating Values and Principles
10
Benefits of Regionalized Dispatch
11
Governance
13
Deputy Director’s Report
14
Training Report
21
Accreditation, Facilities and Continuity of Operations
23
Human Resources
32
Finance
38
Information Technology
59
Recognition
71
1
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Tom Orr
425.577.5671
[email protected]
Thank you for your interest in NORCOM.
NORCOM holds itself fully accountable to those we serve. As part of that accountability,
we are committed to providing an annual report that candidly evaluates our work. In the
following pages, we report to you on NORCOM’s operations, finance and technology
achievements for 2015.
The last year proved to be a significant turning point for NORCOM both internally and
externally. Internally, NORCOM welcomed aboard its first full-time Information Technology
Director, Dee Hathaway, after an exhaustive national search. Under Dee’s leadership,
and with the steadfast and extraordinary effort of his small staff, NORCOM carried out a
highly successful upgrade of its TriTech Fire Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system while
simultaneously upgrading all fire agencies with the latest mobile computer technology. At
the same time, NORCOM made major strides towards bringing the police New World CAD
system contract towards a conclusion.
All of this was done while transitioning away from a contract with Online Business Systems
to provide outside project management for the Integrated Communications Records
Management System (ICRM). These projects signaled that NORCOM had successfully
developed an in-house project management culture, process and expertise. Karen Furuya
and Mike Prill distinguished themselves as capable and expert project managers.
NORCOM also demonstrated its creativity in responding to the shortage in hiring do to an
improved economy. A team of dedicated NORCOM personnel rolled up their sleeves and
reinvented our recruiting and hiring process, successfully overcoming a significant drop in
available candidates and achieving a 58% reduction in the time to needed to bring a
successful candidate through the extensive screening and hiring process.
NORCOM’s Finance Manager, Treasurer and Finance Committee continued their excellent
track record of assuring financial accountability. NORCOM’s clean audit from the State
Auditor in 2015 is just one of many examples of the outstanding financial management of
the agency. With Tracey Dunlap’s promotion to Kirkland Deputy City Manager, NORCOM
lost not only its long-time treasurer but also one of the few resource experts who had been
involved in the formation of NORCOM at its early stages. Fortunately, Michael Olson,
Kirkland Finance Director, hit the ground running and, together with Gwen Pilo, NORCOM
Finance Manager, assured a smooth transition in 2015.
2
Externally, NORCOM served as a leader in county-wide discussions involving the eleven
other King county Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), the King County Council, Sound
Cities Association, and the King County E-911 office. Those discussions led to a leadingedge County Ordinance that will help establish a strategic vision and regional framework
for a county-wide partnership on technology, operations and finance of the entire E-911
system from the initial call to arrival of first responders on scene.
As you can see, NORCOM has a group of talented and highly-professional personnel
dedicated to NORCOM’s mission and purpose. And while this annual report is written by
the management team, it is the passion and dedication of all NORCOM employee that,
day in and day out, make NORCOM the stellar agency that it is.
3
MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNING BOARD CHAIR
It has been my sincere pleasure to represent the five police agencies and fourteen fire
agencies that rely on NORCOM for 911 dispatching services. I am continually impressed by
the level of collaboration and cooperation that each of the member agencies commits
each year to ensure the essential services provided by NORCOM are properly supported
and governed.
This last year has been extremely busy with a number of significant accomplishments made
in the form of a major technology upgrade, adoption of a new user free methodology,
and the ratification of a fair and equitable labor agreement.
NORCOM also continued to provide a great deal of leadership on a number of key issues
that presented challenges to the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) throughout King
County. We were instrumental in forming an effective coalition of nine PSAPs that resulted
in the adoption of a new ordinance that provides a voice on decisions related to regional
funding, technology implementation and operational practices that impact 911 services.
The last two years serving as chair and vice-chair of the NORCOM Governing Board has
reinforced by strong belief that the 911 system telecommunicators and those who support
them are the true unsung heroes of public safety!
Jim Torpin
Fire Chief, Northshore Fire Department
4
MESSAGE FROM THE TREASURER
NORCOM continued its track record of strong financial performance in 2015, including
another clean audit. The Finance Committee supports the Treasurer in the oversight of all
financial records and reviews the budget, as well as providing support and expertise to the
NORCOM Finance Manager. This process helps provide transparency and accountability
in financial management to the Governing Board.
I was appointed in 2015 as NORCOM’s second Treasurer and have been a member of the
Finance Committee since its inception. During this time, the agency has operated with
financial excellence due to the hard work and commitment of staff, the Finance
Committee, and the Governing Board. I want to thank all those who have worked so
diligently to keep NORCOM financially strong.
In early 2016, we learned that the Finance Manager will be moving on to another agency.
I would like to express appreciation to Gwen Pilo for her years of dedicated work managing
NORCOM’s finances. I am confident, with the support provided by the staff and Finance
Committee, the record of financial excellence will continue to be upheld while a new
Finance Manager is hired.
Michael Olson
Finance Director, City of Kirkland
5
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
6
PRINCIPAL REPRESENTATIVES
Mayor
John Stokes
Board Chair
Alan Gothelf
City Manager
Bob Stowe
Commissioner
Eric Hollis
Councilmember
Bruce Dodds
Board Chair
Eric Adman
Councilmember
Penny Sweet
Commissioner
Ken Callahan
Mayor
Alex Morcos
Chief
James Knisley
Mayor
Bruce Bassett
Councilmember
Charles Peterson
Commissioner
Jerry Smith
Chief
Jay Wiseman
Board Chair
Kevin Coughlin
7
GOVERNING BOARD
Brad Miyake
Bob Van Horne
City of Kirkland
Kurt Triplett
Michael Sauerwein
City of Medina
Bob Larson
David Burke
Lee Soptich
Duvall Fire District #45
Eastside
Fire & Rescue
Jim Torpin
Matt Cowan
City of Bellevue
City of Snoqualmie
Chris Connor
Fire District 27
James Knisley
Skykomish
Fire District #50
City of Bothell
Mitch Wasserman
City of Clyde Hill
Noel Treat
City of Mercer Island
Northshore
Fire Department
Shoreline
Fire Department
Jay Wiseman
Greg Ahearn
Snoqualmie Pass
Fire & Rescue
8
Woodinville
Fire & Rescue
JOINT OPERATIONS BOARD
Police Representatives
Mike Johnson
Bellevue
Bill Archer
Clyde Hill
Steve Burns
Medina
Mike Ursino
Kirkland
Dave Jokinen
Mercer Island
Fire Representatives
Mark Moulton
Bellevue
Jim Roepke
Bothell
Mark Correira
City of Snoqualmie
Joel Kuhnhenn
Duvall
Greg Tryon
Eastside
Fire & Rescue
Chris Connor
Fall City FD 27
Helen
Ahrens-Byington
Kirkland
Tommy Smith
Redmond
Tim Dahl
Shoreline
Jay Wiseman
Snoqualmie Pass
9
Peder Davis
Woodinville
Fire & Rescue
BACKGROUND, VALUES AND PRINCIPLES
NORCOM’s formation in late 2007 and start of operation on July 1, 2009 consolidated the
9-1-1 call answering and emergency radio communications service previously provided by
Bellevue, Kirkland, and Mercer Island police and established an operation with an
experienced management team focused on the sole mission of answering 9-1-1 calls and
dispatching police, fire and EMS service providers in northeast King County.
Prior to NORCOM’s formation, there were seven different separate dispatch centers:
Bellevue, Issaquah, Bothell, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond and the King County Sheriff’s
Office. While all the dispatch centers provided quality public safety, there was extensive
replication of administrative and operating structures within a relatively small geographic
area.
NORCOM’s Statement of Operating Values and Principles was established by the
steering committee at the onset of its formation. The committee also completed work
on a Business and Services Plan and Technology Strategy that serve as the foundation
for NORCOM’s operation. The key elements of this plan:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Defined services to be provided;
Recommended a governance model;
Defined the relationship between subscribers to and owners of the agency;
Recommended a fee structure;
Described the appropriate model for the administration;
Identified the location of the agency and the principles for a lease agreement;
Quantified staffing levels and cost estimate for implementation of the agency;
Identified a technology strategy for completely integrated computer-aided
dispatch, records management and mobile technology for NORCOM;
Identified start-up and transition costs associated with implementation;
Prepared Interlocal Agreement, By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation;
Developed an implementation plan and a recommended timeframe.
In 2010, NORCOM began the process of implementing performance measures by
identifying what the priorities as a dispatch agency are and tying those priorities to the
Operating Principals and Core Values that support the mission.
10
BENEFITS OF REGIONAL DISPATCH
#1 Level of Service
NORCOM’s regional dispatch business model provides many benefits to both
agencies and the communities served by the agencies. First and foremost, our goal is
to always provide high level service to all agencies served. Through year round
introspection and collaboration, we continue to advance and improve
communication services across all levels.
NORCOM’s operating services boards meet regularly to define and refine shared
service protocols and to collaborate on level of service improvements. Response times
continue to improve because of the elimination of the transfer of Fire/EMS calls
between dispatch agencies. Both police and fire services are developing integrated
records management systems (RMS), so that first responders will have real time access
to information through a single records system.
#2 Efficiencies and Cost Savings
A regionalized dispatch approach provides synergies to all involved, allowing
NORCOM member agencies to realize economies of scale. W h i l e N O R C O M ’ s
initial efficiencies were modest, as additional partners joined NORCOM, costs can be
spread over a wider participation base.
While the advances in emergency service technology provide NORCOM ways to
improve our methods, it is becoming increasingly complex and expensive to maintain
and replace the technology. By sharing the costs among NORCOM’s partner
agencies, we’ve eliminated the need for each city or municipality to acquire and
maintain their own technology systems. Over the long-term, NORCOM’s partners
avoid costs associated with technology replacement at multiple communications
centers, and at each agency.
#3 Increased Degree of Control and Decision-Making
NORCOM governance and voting procedures give agencies large and small the ability
to meaningfully shape the policy decisions made by NORCOM. Elected officials from
each of the partner agencies also play an important oversight role for the organization.
11
BENEFITS OF REGIONAL DISPATCH
#4 Ability to Control Costs
The NORCOM partnership model also offers its member jurisdictions greater certainty
to determine the nature and costs of future dispatch operations. Absent NORCOM,
the agencies that previously contracted with Bellevue and Kirkland for dispatch
services would have paid higher contract costs without the ability to control the overall
budget. This full cost recovery contract approach would have significant
disadvantages, most notably higher costs without the decision-making control over
operations and budget.
12
GOVERNANCE AND VOTING
Governance
NORCOM was formed as a non-profit corporation whose members are public agencies
and governed by a board on which all principals are represented.
The basic NORCOM structure is quite similar to many other multi-jurisdictional
communications center operations. Specifically, there is a governing board on which all
principals participate, and which oversees policies and budgets.
The governing board members are comprised of chief executive officers from each
agency. That is, a city manager or mayor, fire chief or police chief.
To provide oversight, each member designates one member of its legislative body to
represent it at the annual Principals Assembly. The purpose of the Principals Assembly is to
present the annual report, review activities of the prior year, preview events and goals for
the upcoming year, present the financial management report and report on NORCOM’s
performance benchmarks. Principals are provided a platform to advise and guide the
governing board on these issues.
In addition to the governing board, there are two operational advisory boards. One
advisory board is comprised fire and EMS agencies and the other advisory board is made
up of police agencies. These two advisory boards meet separately and then meet monthly,
united as the joint operating board.
Voting
NORCOM’s significant financial and operational decisions require a supermajority vote. A
supermajority vote requires affirmative votes of: (1) not less than two-thirds of all members
of the governing board in number; and (2) not less than two-thirds of the weighted vote of
all members of the governing board. Supermajority vote decisions include approval of the
annual budget, user fees, and the addition of a new principal.
For routine operational decisions, the governing board operates by consensus, requiring a
simple majority vote for approval. However, if a governing board member calls for a twoprong majority vote in advance, the issue at hand will then require a majority vote by
number and a majority vote by weight for approval.
13
DEPUTY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Mike Mandella
425-577-5681
[email protected]
The position of deputy director was established in 2012. Deputy Director responsibilities
include management of all day-to-day operational aspects of the NORCOM dispatch call
center. In addition to the call center, the deputy director is also responsible for the
functioning of operations, training, human resources, accreditation, facilities, continuity of
operations and quality assurance. There are currently six full time employees that report to
the deputy director.
Operational Highlights of 2015
In 2014, one team supervisor was appointed to function as an administrative supervisor. This
position served as NORCOM’s Terminal Access Coordinator, or TAC, and as such,
maintained compliance with FBI and WSP rules, regulations, policies and procedures for
the ACCESS system. [ACCESS stands for A Central Computerized Enforcement Service
System. Given its law-enforcement sensitive data, it is subject to strict rules and is audited
every three years.]
The value added by this position exceeded expectations. In May 2015 the role was
transformed to now serve as police liaison. The liaison position is dedicated to facilitating
all police-related operational issues while simultaneously managing TAC duties and
ACCESS compliance.
Given the success of the police liaison position, another team supervisor was assigned the
additional responsibility to function as fire liaison. This position is almost identical to the
police position, with its main focus on better serving the unique needs of our 14 fire
agencies.
Both positions provide immediate and excellent customer service to all our agencies.
Additionally, each position provides an opportunity for senior supervisors to work in an
elevated capacity with more responsibility with exposure to complex projects. With an eye
on succession planning, the two liaisons are also given an in-house opportunity for career
development and knowledge base expansion.
14
DEPUTY DIRECTOR REPORT
Call Volume and Performance
Call volume for 2015 remained fairly consistent with prior years. NORCOM dispatchers
received 290,984 total calls. Of those 290,984 calls, 134,693 calls resulted in police dispatch
and 62,053 resulted in fire or medical unit calls being dispatched.
A positive trend in 2015 was the reduction in agency inquiries. [An agency inquiry is a
process that allows an agency or a citizen to lodge a complaint or inquire as to
why or how a certain response was managed]. In 2015, there were 48 total agency
inquiries. This compares with 47 in 2014, 53 in 2013, 73 in 2012 and 125 in 2011.
The 61% reduction inquiries is due in part to the improvements made to NORCOM’s inhouse training program, which addresses mistakes, anomalies or judgment issues in a
variety of ways. The reduction in inquiries also contributed to the organizational
adjustments that established the police and fire liaison positions.
Tactical Dispatch Team
Established in 2014, this eight member team deployed on four separate occasions in 2015.
Three deployments were for SWAT callouts and one deployment was part of the security
detail for a visiting high-profiled foreign dignitary. The team, consisting of six seasoned
dispatchers and two members of the NORCOM IT team, attended a week-long training in
California to become certified. The long term goal for the tactical dispatch team is to
provide on-scene communications management at high risk events.
Recruitment and Hiring
The Recruitment Cross Team was formed in 2015 with the purpose of addressing our
existing recruitment efforts as well as to looking at ways to streamline our hiring processes.
The team consisted of six telecommunicators and the human resources administrator.
This team performed exceptionally well, planning for and attending five job fairs and one
diversity fair, as well hosting an open house. The team’s public relations efforts resulted in
TV news coverage of the open house, which the turnout dramatically.
The result of the hard work of the Recruitment Cross Team is evidenced by the fact 19 new
telecommunicators were hired in 2015. The team also worked hard to streamline the eight
steps of the hiring process. Prior to their efforts, the average time from step one to date of
hire had been 173 days. After the team’s recommendations, the average time from step
one to date of hire is now 95 days, a reduction of 45%. This dramatic reduction of time was
achieved without any reduction or sacrifice of our stringent hiring standards.
15
Contract Negotiations
The collective bargaining agreement with the NORCOM Associated Guild expired at the
end of 2015. In preparation for bargaining sessions, NORCOM contracted with Agreement
Dynamics, a local firm specializing in the provision of Interest Based Bargaining as well as
the facilitation of bargaining sessions.
In spring of 2015, training in Interest Based Bargaining was conducted by Agreement
Dynamics, a local firm specializing in labor relations and the facilitation of labor
negotiations. All persons from both labor and management who were integral to the
collective bargaining process received three days of training prior to the start of
negotiations. The training proved successful, with collaborative negotiations concluding
in an agreement that all parties “could live with” in just eight sessions.
The new three-year labor agreement expires in December of 2018.
Agency Requests
In 2015, NORCOM responded to 1,290 requests for data, audio recordings, or computer
aided dispatch (CAD) logs. The requests came from participating and subscriber agencies,
law enforcement agencies, including the King County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and various city prosecutors.
Agency Requests
600
BLVPD
500
KIRPD
400
300
MEIPD
200
1-3% Users (KIFD, BEFD, BOFD,
ESFR, KCSO Prosecutor, NSFD,
REFD, SHFD)
100
<1% Users (All other)
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
16
2015
Public Records: Public Disclosure Requests
In 2015, NORCOM responded to 289 public disclosure requests. The complexity of these
requests range from providing a single copy of a computer aided dispatch (CAD) log to
more in-depth collation, review, and compiling of responsive records over the span of a
few months.
Public Records Requests Processed
328
350
278
300
250
200
175
188
289
218
Total Counts
150
100
50
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
17
2014
2015
Public Records: Quality Assurance
NORCOM’s in-house quality assurance specialist reviews 911 calls to ensure compliance
with procedure, training and expectations. In 2015, 1,170 quality assurance reviews were
conducted on police, fire, and medical 911 calls.
Number of Quality Assurance Reviews
Conducted
1400
1312
1253
1200
1049
1044
1000
800
600
400
200
279
411
221206
150
2011
2012
50
569
468
216
390
390
390
144
55
PD
FIRE
EMS
0
2010
2013
2014
2015
Near the end of 2014, a committee was formed to look at overhauling NORCOM’s quality
assurance program. The committee consisted of one supervisor, the quality assurance
specialist, the training coordinator and a CTO. After months of work, the result was a new
quality assurance process and an updated set of evaluation guidelines that are now
applied consistently throughout NOROCM. Telecommunicators follow the same standards
from the time they are in training until years later when their calls are routinely reviewed for
quality assurance. NORCOM has worked hard to ensure training, evaluation and quality
are consistent for all telecommunicators.
18
The Work Ahead
o
Formation of additional cross teams: Performance Expectations and Feedback and,
Career Track Program
o
Measure the performance of the Fire Liaison and, when justified, make permanent full
time position
o
Conduct a promotional process to establish a standing eligibility list for the position of
supervisor
o
Prepare for and effectively utilize, next generation 911 technology, as appropriate,
including Interim Text to 911
o
Prepare and conduct follow-on employee survey to gauge specific technical and
human aspects ascertained from survey of 2012 and 2014
19
2015 Photo Album
Shoreline FD: Never too early to learn CPR
Bellevue FD: Deployed to Wenatchee to
assist with wildfire and arrived in time to help
with large commercial fire
Duvall FD 45: Barn fire. Thanks to Eastside F&R
and Redmond FD, five horses were saved.
Eastside Fire & Rescue: Tribute to
MichaelVanDenBergh, who died in the line
of duty September 2015
20
TRAINING REPORT
Roky Louie
425.577.5678
[email protected]
New Hire Training
NORCOM hired 15 telecommunicators in 2015, 13 of which received 400 hours of classroom
training in our in-house academy. The academy covers topics such as liability, technology,
call processing for EMS, fire and police calls as well as police and fire agency structure and
geography. To date, nine out of the 15 hired have completed their initial training and are
taking emergency calls on their own. Three new hires are still in one-on-one training with a
CTO. One new hire resigned, one is on medical leave, and one has moved to another role
within NORCOM.
Continuing Education
In 2015, the training division’s focus was to continue to improve the continuing education
program for fully trained telecommunicators and team supervisors. In addition to our call
receiver academy for new hires, continuing education is of high importance to both the
training division and to NORCOM.
Each telecommunicator had a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education training in
2015. This included weekly readers which are weekly quizzes as well as King County EMD
classroom and online training.
In addition, a team developed and implemented a High Risk/Low Frequency Simulation
training based on a multiple-alarm high-rise structure fire that included a mayday and
abandonment component. This scenario was completed by all telecommunicators,
several NORCOM administrative staff and was ultimately completed by more than 30
command staff officers of multiple participating fire agencies.
Similar to the high-rise structure fire simulation, the training division also developed an
active shooter training. This training was developed in conjunction with the Kirkland Police
Department, enabling Kirkland patrol officers and supervisors to see the full 360-degree
view of the emergency response mechanics that go into large multi-agency incidents like
active shooter. Approximately 30 Kirkland police officers and supervisors completed this
training.
21
TRAINING REPORT
The Quarterly Addressing Drills (QAD) program was developed the last quarter of 2014. This
is a one-on-one training session between telecommunicators and their supervisor designed
to demonstrate and practice verifying complex, difficult or unusual addresses using both
CAD systems.
The Training Division continued the QAD program through all of 2015, drilling
telecommunicators on 40 additional addresses, ten each quarter. While the QAD program
was designed to help deepen a telecommunicator’s ability using our CAD systems, an
additional benefit has been helping NORCOM catch, and correct, GIS issues as they
develop.
With the success of QAD, the Training Division developed a Quarterly Continuing Education
(QCE) program with a similar concept as the QAD but focusing on more general topics
such as toning out calls on the .190, toning out priority 1 police calls, and resource
emergency.
This program was officially rolled out the first quarter of 2016.
Moving Forward
In 2016, NORCOM will focus on getting all 13 telecommunicators that were hired in 2015
through the rest of their training as well as training the seven new hires that started in the
first quarter of 2016.
At the end of 2015, eight existing NORCOM telecommunicators were hired as new
Communications Training Officers (CTOs).
The Training Division as a whole is dedicated to not lose focus on continuing education
training despite the large number of new hire trainees. With great leadership from
NORCOM management, the division’s focus on working as a team, and our support from
our outside agencies, I am excited to see what all we will be capable of doing in 2016.
22
ACCREDITATION, FACILITY &
CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS
Sheryl Mullen
425.577.5676
[email protected]
The Accreditation, Facility, and Continuity of Operations position includes work in each of
those elements as well as performance measurement, recognition, and support of other
NORCOM business units.
Accreditation
In 1999, CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) partnered
with APCO, International (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials) to
develop a voluntary program allowing agencies to review and internally assess operations
and procedures. Since NORCOM became operational in 2009, the AFC Manager has
been involved in SOP review, with keen attention paid to CALEA requirements. NORCOM
will be moving forward with CALEA accreditation in 2016.
Facility
Facility issues are routed through and addressed by the AFC manager. In 2015, facility issues
included water problems, temperature concerns, and an assortment of other items. During
2015, NORCOM added an office for the deputy director, utilizing space within the existing
supervisor office area. An infrequently used shower was converted to a bathroom and the
kitchen was updated as well. The quiet room was in need of updating; NORCOM IT director
Dee Hathaway and his wife Cindy designed the room, complete with new furniture and
lighting.
Also in 2015, NORCOM accepted the Capacity and Workload Study performed by
ADCOMM Engineering and is in the process of putting out a facility needs assessment RFP.
23
bathrom addition
updated kitchen
new deputy
director office, occupied
new deputy director
office
updated quiet room
updated quiet room
24
Continuity of Operations
Continuity of operations is an effort to ensure that essential functions continue to be
performed during a range of emergencies. Establishing NORCOM’s essential functions is
the first step towards ensuring that those functions can be continued throughout, or
resumed rapidly after, a disruption of normal activities.
Evacuation planning is part of a continuity of operations plan. NORCOM has completed
a first draft of a continuity of operations manual and will be working over the next year
to clarify the essential functions and determine how best to maintain operations should
an emergent event occur.
Call Processing
Incoming calls may come to NORCOM through 911, 7 digit emergency, or business lines.
NORCOM is well above the national standard for the speed in which 911 calls are
answered. While King County requires that 90% of 911 telephone calls are answered within
ten seconds, NORCOM consistently answers 99% of its calls within ten seconds.
In an effort to ensure 911 and other emergency calls are answered quickly, NORCOM has
established a secondary phone queue into which calls can be transferred after an initial
screening by call receivers. Calls determined to be non-emergency are transferred to this
queue and answered by designated call receivers.
During specific periods of high call volume (July 4th, wind storms, etc.), NORCOM makes
use of a “surge” queue into which all non-emergency calls related to that specific event
are transferred. All NORCOM telecommunicators are trained as emergency call receivers
and secondary/surge calls are processed by members of the telecommunicator team.
25
2015 NORCOM Phone Actions
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Totals
911 Answer
911 Calls
7 digit EMER
%
13775
99.33%
7453
12283
99.55%
6844
13675
99.33%
8991
13078
99.72%
7535
14519
99.46%
7885
16154
99.03%
8565
16937
98.79%
9268
16288
97.85%
9258
14160
99.31%
7757
15079
99.06%
8231
13955
99.17%
7618
15234
99.33%
7876
175,137
99.16%
97,281
Non-Emergency
Incoming
(Secondary)
Business
2747
1488
2530
1339
2863
1537
2886
1627
2918
1707
3191
1881
3277
1767
3077
1509
2816
1517
2402
1478
2124
1313
2160
1403
32,991
18,566
•
•
911 Calls = Landline, Wireless, & VoIP Calls
911 Answer % = % of hours 911 calls were answered 90% of the time within 10 seconds
•
7 digit EMER = 425-577-5656 (alarm companies, transfers from agency phones, public
safety agencies)
Secondary Queue = Calls originate via 911 or 7 digit EMER, screened, determined to
be non-emergency, and transferred to this queue
Business = 425-577-5600 (officers, family members, etc.)
•
•
26
8000
99.33%
102.00%
15234
99.17%
13955
99.06%
15079
99.31%
97.85%
16288
14160
98.79%
99.46%
16154 99.03%
16937
13078
13675
10000
12283
12000
13775
14000
14519
99.72%
99.33%
16000
99.55%
18000
99.33%
2015 Call Answer Standard and 911 Call Counts
98.00%
100.00%
96.00%
94.00%
92.00%
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
84.00%
Aug
0
Jul
86.00%
Jun
2000
May
88.00%
Apr
4000
Mar
90.00%
Feb
6000
Jan
Number of 911 Calls
27
GOAL - 90% of calls answered
within 10 seconds
NORCOM Monthly 911
Answer Standard
911 Call Answer Statistics 2010 - Present
99.33%
99.17%
99.06%
99.31%
97.85%
98.79%
99.03%
99.46%
99.72%
99.33%
99.55%
102.00%
99.33%
The NORCOM adopted standard is 90% of 911 calls will be answered within 10 seconds or
less during each hour of a calendar quarter (barring major disasters or other extraordinary
events) Standard Source: King County Enhanced 911 Participation Agreement
97.00%
STANDARD
92.00%
2010
2011
2012
87.00%
2013
2014
2015
82.00%
77.00%
28
Call Dispatching
While callers are still speaking with call receivers, NORCOM dispatchers are notified of the
call and information is relayed to field personnel. Calls are prioritized and dispatched to
field personnel quickly with additional information provided as units are en route.
NORCOM uses computer aided dispatch software (CAD) to track calls and dispatch
information. Calls requiring police and fire response can be processed and dispatched at
the same time through the immediate access to information in the New World (for law
enforcement) and TriTech (for fire agencies) CAD systems.
2015 All Priority Police Calls To Date
* All Calls with a Traffic Stops ***Calls
*****
unit Dispatched
NORCOM
without a
**
****
Billable
Calls for
- Not Officer
Assistance
unit
Officer
TOTAL CAD
initiated
Needed
Initiated
assigned
Incidents
Service
Bellevue PD
55993
6672
1032
26294
89991
51888
Clyde Hill PD
1728
929
758
404
3819
1945
Kirkland PD
34147
14016
461
14480
63104
40533
Medina PD
2536
525
1251
339
4651
2243
Mercer Island PD
8079
6442
124
3311
17956
13020
TOTAL
102483
28584
3626
44828
179521
109629
* All CAD Incidents for Jurisdiction excluding officer initiated
** All CAD Incidents for Jurisdiction - Officer Initiated Calls
*** All CAD Incidents for Jurisdiction without a unit dispatched (E911 Hang Up Calls, Info
Documentation/Broadcast/ Etc)
**** Total CAD Incidents for Jurisdiction
***** Billable Call for Service Numbers obtained from Finance
Police Priority 1/2 Call Received to Call Dispatched (Goal <1 minute) – 2015 Average = 1:03
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
:52
1:01
1:05
:54
1:13
:56
1:06
1:01
1:01
1:06
1:02
1:19
Police Priority 3 Call Received to Call Dispatched (Goal <3 minutes) – 2015 Average = 2:01
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
1:49
1:50
1:49
1:49
2:09
2:14
2:14
2:08
1:51
2:06
2:02
2:11
Police Priority 4/5 Call Received to Call Dispatched (Goal <1 hour) – 2015 Average = 20:42
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
18:47 18:50 18:17 20:02 23:42 20:11 22:04 22:18 20:53 22:45 20:11 20:29
29
Procedures for dispatch processes are established by NORCOM in conjunction with police and fire
representatives through the Fire Service Board & Police Service Board. These boards have
established service levels which NORCOM strives to maintain. Included in the chart above and
below are incident volume and response time information.
2015 Priority 0-5 Fire Emergency & Non-Emergency Calls
Priority 0-4 CAD
Incidents
Still Alarms
Priority 5 (NONEMER) CAD
Incidents
Total CAD
Incidents
Bellevue Fire
12528
292
1672
14492
Bothell Fire
4999
77
638
5714
Duvall Fire
656
41
120
817
Eastside Fire & Rescue
7652
136
1170
8958
Fall City Fire
354
31
112
497
Kirkland Fire
6665
58
931
7654
Mercer Island Fire
1941
60
397
2398
Northshore Fire
2417
50
376
2843
Redmond Fire
6133
75
675
6883
Shoreline Fire
6652
68
849
7569
Skykomish Fire
194
31
30
255
Snoqualmie Pass Fire
246
31
26
303
Snoqualmie Fire
823
30
83
936
Woodinville Fire
2359
61
314
2734
TOTAL
53619
1041
7393
62053
% of Emergency Fire/EMS call received to call dispatched (Goal=90% in 60 seconds or less)
2014 Average = 88%
JAN
FEB
MAR APR
MAY JUN
JUL
AUG SEPT OCT
NOV DEC
91%
91%
90%
90%
90%
88%
89%
85%
89%
86%
87%
86%
% of Emergency Fire/EMS call received to call dispatched (Goal=99% in 90 seconds or less)
2014 Average = 97%
JAN
FEB
MAR APR
MAY JUN
JUL
AUG SEPT OCT
NOV DEC
97%
97%
97%
97%
97%
97%
97%
96%
97%
96%
96%
95%
30
CAD Calls by Year
Updated 1/1/2016
This chart includes all calls entered into the CAD system with a unit dispatched on them (NOT calls for service by budget definition)
Bellevue PD
Clyde Hill PD
Kirkland PD
Medina PD
Mercer Island PD
Police Totals **
2010
2011*
2012
2013
2014
64425 73673 54113 53057 58889
3073
2880
2829
2746
2514
44863 62925 63787 53499 54993
2434
2034
3670
4218
3093
11705 13035 12745 10830 14428
126500 154547 137144 124350 133917
** Police Calls include only calls with a unit dispatched on them
Total
Calls
(3
166059
8089
172279
10981
38003
395411
3 Year
Average
of
Police
42.00%
2.05%
43.57%
2.78%
9.61%
100.00%
3 Year
Total
Averag
Calls
e of
(3
Fire
41190
23.59%
14646
8.39%
2395
1.37%
25013
14.33%
1460
0.84%
21015
12.04%
6621
3.79%
8503
4.87%
19559
11.20%
21078
12.07%
835
0.48%
927
0.53%
2571
1.47%
8774
5.03%
174587 100.00%
2010
2011
2012
2013 2014
Bellevue Fire
13141 12652 13357 13487 14346
5386
Bothell Fire
4456
4243
4513
4747
847
Duvall Fire
801
739
776
772
8600
Eastside Fire
7943
7661
8127
8286
498
Fall City Fire
480
416
505
457
7163
Kirkland Fire
6323
6510
6998
6854
2364
Mercer Island Fire
2242
2120
2153
2104
2870
Northshore Fire
2866
2514
2802
2831
6899
Redmond Fire
6598
6150
6342
6318
7472
Shoreline Fire
6730
6355
6769
6837
266
Skykomish Fire
323
280
295
274
311
Snoqualmie Pass Fire
236
278
311
305
863
Snoqualmie Fire
801
778
802
906
2821
Woodinville Fire
3285
3019
2963
2990
Fire Totals **
56225 53715 56713 57168 60706
** Fire Calls include only calls with a unit dispatched on them
* 2011 includes calls entered into New World & TriTech - some overlap exists.
31
3 Year
2015 %
of
Average
police
of All
2015 calls to
Calls
29.13% 63697
47.29%
1.42%
3415
2.54%
30.22% 48624
36.10%
1.93%
4312
3.20%
6.67% 14645
10.87%
69.37% 134693 100.00%
3 Year
Average
of All
Calls
7.23%
2.57%
0.42%
4.39%
0.26%
3.69%
1.16%
1.49%
3.43%
3.70%
0.15%
0.16%
0.45%
1.54%
30.63%
2015
14492
5714
817
8958
497
7654
2398
2843
6883
7569
255
303
936
2734
62053
2015 %
of fire
calls
to
23.35%
9.21%
1.32%
14.44%
0.80%
12.33%
3.86%
4.58%
11.09%
12.20%
0.41%
0.49%
1.51%
4.41%
100.00%
HUMAN RESOURCES
Roky Louie
425.577.5678
[email protected]
The focus of the human resources business unit is to ensure quality services to both internal
and external customers by the fair and consistent administration of NORCOM’s personnel
policies and procedures, doing so through NORCOM’s cultural values. The emphasis from
this business unit is to deliver services with the C.A.R.E.S. program in mind at all times. Human
resources maintains personnel, medical, and recruitment records, organizes recruiting and
hiring processes, and disseminates information about changes in personnel law, programs,
and policy.
As a member of the Labor Management committee, the human resources administrator
works closely with NORCOM’s two labor groups: the Public Safety Employees Union (PSEU)
519 for the team supervisors and the NORCOM Associated Guild (NAG) for the
telecommunicators.
Challenges
The human resources unit underwent significant changes in 2015. In the first quarter,
NORCOM HR had two full time employees: one HR manager and one HR specialist. The
positions were consolidated to one HR FTE functioning as a human resources administrator.
The administrator left NORCOM mid-year, leading to an extensive search for a
replacement. In addition to the specific problem of an HR vacancy, the local labor pool
began contracting as the public sector increased their pace of hiring. The tight labor
market impacted NORCOM as well as all other local PSAPs.
Solutions
In July, a recruitment committee was established to assess the existing recruitment program
and testing/evaluation phases of the hiring program. The committee made several
recommendations, many of which were implemented, including active participation in
multiple job fairs and open house events that resulted in contact with more than 1,000
prospective candidates. The following chart illustrates the effectiveness the committee’s
recommendations in terms shortening the hiring process timeframe.
In addition to the formation of a recruitment committee, the Governing Board approved
resolution 112 in the first quarter of 2016, which called for an increase in the HR salary range
and a reclassification of the job duties. NORCOM’s training coordinator Roky Louie started
in this position in March 2016.
32
HUMAN RESOURCES
Recruitment Committee Recommendations
& Impact on the Hiring Time Frame
January - June of 2015
Pass Rate
Split Ear Test
Preliminary Interview
Suitability Assessment Re
Total
0.00
30.15
77.63%
8.27
0.00
8.27
68.75%
6.29
0.00
6.29
64.06%
6.47
0.00
6.47
75.86%
10.32
15.15
25.47
63.16%
2.60
12.70
15.30
6.18
44.33
50.52
54.17%
1.93
37.86
39.79
13.00
26.00
39.00
81.25%
0.88
10.94
11.82
5.00
5.00
10.00
91.67%
-2.00
7.64
5.64
11.50
0.00
11.50
100.00%
10.82
0.00
10.82
82.45
90.49
172.94
12.67%
28.97
69.13
98.11
TOTALS
insufficient
data*
Psychological Exam
Duration in Days
Pass Rate Controllable Uncontrollable
30.15
Final Interview
Polygraph
Total
82.69%
insufficient
data*
insufficient
data*
insufficient
data*
insufficient
data*
Background
Duration in Days
Controllable Uncontrollable
July - December of 2015
*there were not enough examples during this time period to provide accurate percentage data
33
HUMAN RESOURCES
Telecommunicator Hiring
The end result of the recruitment cross team’s work was the hiring of eighteen
telecommunicators in the last half of 2015. This effectively brought the telecommunicators
group to full staffing. Additionally, the recruitment efforts enabled NORCOM to build a
pipeline of fully vetted and hirable candidates. There are currently four candidates at the
ready to fill future telecommunicator vacancies.
Relationship Building
Beyond reaching out to potential applicants, the recruitment cross team also reached out
to testing agencies, polygraphers, psychologists, and background investigators. A more
personable relationship was formed with Public Safety Testing (PST), and a new partnership
was formed with the National Testing Network (NTN). By having more than one contractor
available for the external screening processes, NORCOM was able to be more responsive
in situations where there was backlog within a single agency.
Relationships were also established and maintained with other emergency call centers,
including Sean Morrow at Valley Communications Center and Jessica Wass at SNOPAC.
Additionally, both Mei Barker and Lisa Longdon have collaborated with NORCOM to
ensure NORCOM utilizes the newest best practices for hiring telecommunicators.
Exit Interviews
Exit interviews are conducted with employees who voluntarily leave NORCOM. This is an
essential tool used to fully understand the employee’s experience while they worked for
NORCOM. Data collection and analysis help identify individual problems versus an
emerging trend and identify issues systemic to the organization or reflective of a business
unit. This information is reported on a regular basis and appropriate action is taken as
needed.
34
HUMAN RESOURCES
Exit Interview Data
Exit Interview Data
2009
# of Voluntary Quits
4
% of exit interviews conducted on VQ's 50%
2010
15
91%
2011
5
27%
2012
14
92%
2013
5
80%
2014
4
50%
2015
7
71%
Reason for Leaving
2009
Voluntary Quits*
4
*Pursue School
1
*Pursue Another Field
0
*Work at another communications cen 2
*Working Conditions
1
*Stay at Home
0
*Moving
0
*Retired
0
*Family/Personal
0
2010
15
1
4
1
1
1
6
0
1
2011
5
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
2012
14
1
2
1
2
2
3
2
1
2013
5
0
2
2
0
0
0
1
0
2014
4
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
2015
7
0
2
0
1
0
3
0
1
11
0
0
17
0
0
4
0
3
0
2
3
0
2
3
1
1
0
2013
2014
2015
Terminations
Discontinuation of Training
Promotions
5
0
0
Telecommunicator Workgroup
Year
Calculating the Average Turnover Rate
2009
A
B
C
D
E
2010
2011
2012
Total Number of employees at the
62
70
65
60
61
63
60.5
highest staffing level for that year
Number of new hires that failed to
5
11
17
4
2
2
0
complete the probationary period
Number of experienced employees
4
18
4
10
6*
5
9
who left for any reason
Turnover Rate
14.52% 41.43% 32.31% 23.33% 13.11% 11.11% 14.87%
(Turnover = B + C/A)
Retention Rate
85.48% 58.57% 67.69% 76.67% 86.89% 88.89% 85.13%
(Retention = 1-Turnover) x 100
*Three of the six experienced employees who exited the telecommunicator workgroup in 2013 were
promoted to the team supervisor workgroup and did not actually leave the organization.
35
HUMAN RESOURCES
The Hiring Process
NORCOM uses the services of Public Safety Testing (PST) to provide the initial testing for our
applicants. The testing measures skills such as typing speed, reasoning, comprehension and
writing ability. Applicants who pass the test at PST (70% or better) come to NORCOM for
the split-ear/multi-task testing. Those who pass the split-ear test (80% or better) are
scheduled for an orientation.
Upon conclusion of the orientation, applicants are afforded an opportunity to ask
questions they may have about the job, the process, or NORCOM in general. After
successful completion of the orientation, applicants then return to PST for a suitability
assessment, which measures general aptitude for the specialized work of an emergency
telecommunicator. Applicants with moderate or low risk scores are sent a conditional offer
letter.
This is the point where the selection process changes from a testing phase to an evaluation
phase. Applicants become candidates and are scheduled for a one hour site visit in the
NORCOM communications room. This is largely for the candidate’s benefit, exposing them
to the room atmosphere, the amount of technology surrounding them, and depending on
the activity in the room, the opportunity to talk with on-duty personnel.
After the site visit, the candidate is then scheduled for a psychological evaluation and
polygraph while simultaneously being backgrounded. Candidates who are
recommended at the conclusion of these evaluations go on to a final interview with the
executive director and the deputy director.
Following the final interview, decisions are made to offer employment and an invitation to
join the next call receiver academy. Those that receive this offer are sent for a postoffer/pre-employment physical, drug test and audiogram.
36
HUMAN RESOURCES
2016 Goals and Objectives
o
Maintain staffing levels at or near 100%. Industry standards related to turnover can
range from 17 – 23%. NORCOM is highly attentive to retention numbers while
balancing the impacts upon the agency to retain personnel that are unable to
perform the essential functions of the job;
o
Be agile and responsive to the recruitment, hiring, and retention of qualified
employees in all business units to meet NORCOM’s standards of performance and
professionalism without negatively impacting the Training Program, or continuity of
operations. This translates to coordinating effectively with each business leader in
terms of staffing needs and the timing of hires;
o
Standardize internal communications via approved templates that include the
intended message, required language, and appropriate tone. These will focus
predominately on counseling and disciplinary actions and may also include other
needed communications such as performance improvement plans;
o
Prepare for and execute a promotional process to establish an eligibility list for the
position of team supervisor;
o
Monitor the testing and evaluation practices of Public Safety Testing for
telecommunicator candidates.
o
Work with Public Safety Testing to continue to create a list of qualified candidates
to fill vacant telecommunicator positions to reduce the amount of time a position is
vacant.
37
FINANCE
Gwen Pilo
425.577.5673
[email protected]
The finance business unit provides fiduciary support to other business units and has primary
responsibility for day-to-day management of NORCOM’s financial assets and resources
including budget monitoring, accounts payable, payroll, accounts receivable,
investments, and fixed assets. Additionally, the finance business unit oversees the
development of the annual budget and prepares the annual financial statements. The
finance business unit also coordinates employee benefits, centralized services, and risk
management.
NORCOM is required to file financial statements each year with the Washington State
Auditor’s office and is subject to annual audits. The financial statements of NORCOM are
prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) as applied
to governmental units. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the
accepted standard-setting body for establishing governmental accounting and financial
reporting principles.
Health Benefits Committee
NORCOM joined the Association of WA Cities Employee Benefit Trust in July 2014. 2015 was
the first year NORCOM was eligible to participate and be recognized for achieving the
nine standards of quality in employee health promotion. The wellness standards are based
on current research and best practice models.
WellCity Awards are granted for accomplishments completed in 2015 and will be
announced in April 2016. Each award recipient receives an award plaque, press release,
window decals and a WellCity road sign to help the community celebrate the
achievement. Members who earn the 2016 award will receive a 2% discount on all trust
medical plan premiums. The discount will be applied to 2017 premiums for active
employees, spouses, and dependents.
In NORCOM’s first year as a wellness program, we hit the ground running. A resolution was
approved by the Governing Board supporting the wellness program and a committee was
formed. The first few committee meetings focused on education and planning to
familiarize committee members with the standards and resources that AWC provides and
how to utilize the data gathered from the annual health questionnaire. The committee also
worked to create the program mission statement, name, tagline and logo, as well as a
calendar of events for the year.
38
FINANCE
The committee did a considerable amount of work in a short period of time and promoted
NORCOM On Track consistently throughout the year with various activities, including: the
Biggest Loser, the Spring Live Out Loud campaign, a five-week Focus on Nutrition, Summer
Safety, the Employee Picnic, Health Screenings, National Preparedness Month, National
Save for Retirement Week, Cure for the Cold, Soup/Chili/Chowder Days and distribution of
“A Good Night’s Sleep” booklets and wellness calendars for 2016.
NORCOM On Track encourages employee participation by planning a variety of activities
that reflect the interests and needs of the employees and builds a culture of wellness by
creating workplace conditions that support well-being.
NORCOM On Track’s mission statement is to
create a team-oriented work environment that
is supportive of positive health practices and
encourages physical, social, mental and
emotional wellness.
39
FINANCE
User Fee Study
In late 2013, a request for proposal was released for a user fee policy review and analysis.
The contract was awarded to ADCOMM Engineering. ADCOMM presented their final
report in June 2014, which consisted of an overview of NORCOM’s current User Fee Model,
impacts to changing the current model, issues that will impact future funding formulas, and
three different options for funding formulas.
NORCOM’s current formula is defined in the Inter-local Agreement; however it can be
changed as part of the budget process. The current model identifies all expenditures and
splits them 50/50 between police and fire agencies before allocating costs to the
participants based on calls for service.
Changing the formula will have impacts to our users, both positive and negative,
depending on when the change is made, the implementation process and the size of the
agency. Issues that may impact future funding models are related to using two CAD
systems and the impacts to staff, and the technology service level agreements that are
being developed.
The Three user fee approaches were presented.
1. Calls for Service Distribution model where fees are based solely on the number of calls
an agency generates.
2. The Functional Distribution model, which takes into consideration calls for service and
staff distribution for functions performed (call-taking, police dispatch, fire dispatch and
police data).
3. The Service Metric Distribution model, which uses both calls for service and staff
distribution, but also includes agency population and commissioned officers as a metric.
After analyzing each option for sustainability, predictability, understandability, equity, and
administrative ease, the Functional Distribution model was determined to be the best
option based on the criteria. As part of the 2016 budget process, the Governing Board
requested NORCOM provide a comparative analysis to determine if this model should be
adopted in 2017. This analysis was provided in November 2015 with several variations of the
Functional Distribution model and the impacts to the User Fees of each agency. The Board
approved Resolution 111 in February of 2016 approving the Functional Distribution Model
as the method to determine user fees beginning in 2017.
40
FINANCE
2015 Expenditures
The 2015 Budget was approved with an increase of 3.6% in the operating funds.
Personnel service costs increased 0.8% due to the move to the Association of Washington
Cities Benefit Trust for Medical, Dental and Vision and the reduction of the cost of medical
benefits (25.9%). Continued staffing analysis using the APCO Retains formula supported an
increase of two FTEs in 2014; overtime was reduced 20% to offset the increase in FTEs.
NORCOM ended 2015 within budget and is now in the process of determining how unspent
funds from 2015 should be applied in 2016. Once the most important areas of need are
identified, the Governing Board will be presented with a proposal to amend the 2016
budget.
The following graphs display the 2015 Budget vs. Actual broken down by major category
and expenditures by category.
41
FINANCE
2015 Expenditures by Category
Personnel
Maintenance/Operations
Capital Expenditures
Total
8,531,353
2,656,243
493,125
$ 11,680,721
Actual expenditures for salaries & operations were 8.5% less than budgeted and can be
attributed to three main areas: a deferred payment on a software maintenance contract
($388,160) until the software company fixes several problems within the software, several
vacant positions in the information technology and operations department ($372,545), and
repairs and maintenance budgeted but not realized ($163,348).
42
FINANCE
Overtime by Department
The overtime hours logged by each department eligible to earn overtime is displayed in
the chart below.
In 2015, telecommunicator overtime increased 77% and supervisor overtime increased
82%. Operations struggled to remain fully staffed for most of the year. By the end of the
year there were eight trainees in class, 84% of telecommunicators were released at the call
receiver position, and 78% were released to work more than one position.
The overtime listed above equates to approximately 5.5 FTEs, an increase from 2014 (OT
equivalent to 4 FTEs). Supervisor overtime increased due to the reduction in the FTE count
when the police liaison position was created.
43
FINANCE
Communications Staffing Model and Net Available Work Hours
Staffing levels are continually analyzed for the communications business unit. The analysis
uses detailed payroll information for each telecommunicator to determine the number of
net available work hours a telecommunicator is available.
The charts below follow the APCO Retains methodology to determine net available work
hours for 2015. When applied to NORCOM’s staffing model, 26 call receivers and 35
dispatchers are required to cover NORCOM’s current positions. This number is consistent
with 2014 numbers.
Call Receivers
Working Hours available per year
Less:
Vacation & Comp Time
Holidays
Training, Conferences, Spec. Duty
Administrative Leave
Sick time, Bereavement
LWOP, OJI, JD
Total hours not available . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Available hours per employee per year
Hours in a year (365 days x 24 hours)
Dispatchers
Working Hours available per year
Less:
Vacation & Comp Time
Holidays
Training, Conferences, Spec. Duty
Administrative Leave
Sick time, Bereavement
LWOP, OJI, JD
Total hours not available . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Available hours per employee per year
Hours in a year (365 days x 24 hours)
1,803
135
69
117
15
95
1
Staffing ratio
(Hours in year/Hours available)
Calculating the Number of Call Receiver's Required
Call Receiver Positions Required on Watch
Times Staffing Ratio:
Call Receiver's Required to be employed
431
1,371
8,760
1,917
116
75
130
16
95
1
Staffing ratio
(Hours in year/Hours available)
6.39
Calculating the Number of Dispatcher's Required
Dispatcher Positions Required on Watch
Times Staffing Ratio:
Dispatcher's Required to be employed
4.00
6.39
25.55
434
1,483
8,760
5.91
5.83
5.91
34.44
Net available work hours (NAWH) decreased in 2015 for call receivers from 1,429 to 1,371.
Conversely, NAWH increased for dispatchers from 1,420 to 1,483.
44
FINANCE
Budget by Program
NORCOM tracks expenses by program in order to provide information on the cost of
services. In the chart below, each program of the operating budget that expenses can
be directly attributed to is presented. This method allows for better tracking of the
services NORCOM offers and the cost of those services.
45
FINANCE
FINANCE
Capital Projects
Integrated Communications & Records Management Project
The Capital Projects Fund was created to track projects lasting more than a year. The
Integrated Communications and Records Management (ICRM) project began in 2008
with an initial budget of $5.065 million, and was scheduled to be completed in 2010.
Due to setbacks in the development of critical software, a professional services contract
for project management was signed with Online Business Systems (OBS) in 2012 and
NORCOM restructured management and oversight of the ICRM project. A steering
committee was formed to help with project decisions and direction and the Governing
Board authorized the executive director to enter into an agreement with Foster Pepper for
special counsel to support NORCOM.
Late in 2012, NORCOM initiated dispute resolution with New World Systems with respect to
delays in delivery of the software, as well as defects in the software that had been
delivered. The contract provided for dispute resolution in such instances. Dispute
resolution took place in 2013 and was unsuccessful. Mediation was scheduled in Detroit,
Michigan on March 3, 2014. Although both parties left mediation without an agreement, a
Mediators Agreement was approved by the Governing Board in April, and in June the
Board approved the Settlement Agreement and Third Amendment to the New World
Systems Contract. On July 24, 2014, NORCOM received a payment of $850,000 from New
World Systems as part of the Settlement Agreement signed June 16, 2014.
As a result of the delivery delays and defects, the NORCOM Governing Board engaged in
a strategic reassessment of the entire project. Online Business Systems conducted an
Alternative Strategies Assessment (ASA) in an effort to assist NORCOM in identifying a new
roadmap for the ICRM project. The result of the ASA acknowledged the viability of a new
path for Fire Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), mobile and Records Management System
(RMS), instead of the original Integrated CAD/Mobile/RMS that was to be shared with
Police. The ICRM vendor, New World Systems, proposed a change in contract whereby
New World Systems would no longer be the provider for the Fire portion of the ICRM system.
Since that time, NORCOM and New World Systems have been working towards this model.
This change from an integrated Police/Fire CAD/Mobile/RMS system to two separate tracks
has prompted reorganization within the ICRM program, new stakeholder groups, and a
new method for identifying and approving projects.
46
FINANCE
The ICRM program is now defined as a collection of several projects that have related
goals and shared resources. Projects are identified within the new Fire and Police
Stakeholder groups and presented to the Executive Director and IT Director for prioritization
based on available personnel and funding resources.
The chart on the following page shows what has been spent to date on ICRM projects and
the amount remaining on the New World Systems contract and the TriTech Mobile contract
at the end of 2015. Of the $450,510 remaining, $274,509 is for police; $176,000 is for the 2013
SSMA payment that will be paid to New World once all P1 and P2 issues have been
resolved.
At the end of 2015, $8.5 million was budgeted and $8.0 million has been spent.
47
FINANCE
New World Systems Contract
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Total Spent at 12/31/15
Increase
from
Change
Orders
Remaining
Commitment
Spent to Date
$
521,072
$ 2,927,902
$
972,809
$ 1,955,093
$
830,976 $ 155,702 $ 1,279,819
$
712,174 $ 381,966 $
925,020
$
$
$
925,020
$
$
$
925,020
$
312,990 $
$
450,510
$
$
$
450,510
$
3,350,021
Increase
from
Change
Orders
TriTech Mobile Contract
Spent to Date
2014 $
282,745 $
2015 $
77,888 $
Total Spent at 12/31/15 $
360,633
Other Expenses
Consumable Goods
Small Tools & Equipment
Computer Equipment
Travel & Lodging
Training
Advertising
Professional Services & Project Consulting
GIS Consulting
Software Licensing
Total Spent at 12/31/14
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
535
20,381
1,006,728
28,528
10,866
486
2,488,663
417,914
353,048
4,327,149
$
8,037,803
48
Remaining
Commitment
$
77,888
$
-
FINANCE
Net Position & Capital Assets
NORCOM’s net position at the end of 2015 is $9.4 million. The largest portion of NORCOM’s
net position is invested in capital assets. Capital equipment reserves ($1,509,090), operating
expense reserve ($113,602), and the rate stabilization fund ($557,516) equal 23% of the net
position. 11% of net position is designated for the Integrated Communications & Record
Management Project.
The breakdown of NORCOM’s net position is depicted in the graph below.
49
FINANCE
NORCOM’s Capital Assets
at December 31 2015
Beginning Balance
as of
1/1/2015
Capital Assets, not being depreciated:
Work in progress
$
3,144,957
Additions
107,791
$ (3,144,958)
4,532,438
-
3,148,478
3,999,103
(3,923,032)
3,757,884
3,999,103
541,037
$
(433,177)
(642,094)
6,072,310
$ (3,381,994)
$
(2,711,922)
(642,094)
4,402,970
$
6,180,101
$ (6,526,952)
$
4,510,761
Capital assets, being depreciated:
Machinery and Equipment
Intangible Assets - Software
Less Accumulated Depreciation for:
Machinery and Equipment
Intangible Assets - Software
Capital Assets, net of depreciation
$
(2,819,783)
1,712,655
Total Capital Assets, net
$
4,857,612
50
$
Deletions
Ending Balance
as of
12/31/2015
$
107,791
FINANCE
Budget to Forecast Comparison
Ever mindful of the economic situation, the NORCOM team always looks toward the
future to identify service levels and customer needs, while focusing on efficiency and
cost savings.
The charts on the next page compare the business and services 10-year outlook to
NORCOM’s actual budget for the last seven years for outside revenue, budgeted
assessments, and budgeted expenditures.
51
FINANCE
Budget to Forecast Comparison
Budgeted Outside Revenue vs. 10 year Forecast
2,000,000
1,500,000
Budgeted Outside Revenue
1,000,000
10 Year Forecast
500,000
2009
2010
2011*
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Budgeted Assessments vs. 10 Year Forecast
11,500,000
11,000,000
10,500,000
10,000,000
9,500,000
Budgeted Assessments
9,000,000
10 Year Forecast
8,500,000
8,000,000
7,500,000
2009
2010
2011*
2012**
2013
2014
2015
2016
Budgeted Expenditures vs. 10 Year Forecast
13,000,000
12,500,000
12,000,000
11,500,000
11,000,000
Budgeted Expenditures
10,500,000
10 Year Forecast
10,000,000
9,500,000
9,000,000
2009
2010
2011*
2012
2013
2014
52
2015
2016
FINANCE
Smoothing & Impact to User Fees
During the formation stages of NORCOM it was found that Bellevue was subsidizing the
dispatch operation and many agencies would not be able to afford the full cost of doing
business. Bellevue agreed to a fixed dollar amount ($5.5 million) paid over a period of
seven years (smoothing period), allocated 30% to police and 70% to fire, and applied to
agency fees based on their call volume. The amount Bellevue pays, known as “smoothing,”
decreases each year.
The chart below shows the amount of smoothing to be allocated in each year.
SMOOTHING PERIOD
2009
$ 575,000 $
Smoothing - Police - 30%
172,500
Smoothing - Fire - 70%
402,500
TOTAL
SMOOTHING
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
1,117,500 $ 996,000 $ 832,000 $ 694,500 $ 580,000 $ 484,500 $ 220,500 $ 5,500,000
208,350
174,000
145,350
66,150
335,250
298,800
249,600
782,250
697,200
486,150
406,000
339,150
582,400
154,350
The following depicts an estimate of the smoothing allocation for each agency in the
years to come:
SMOOTHING PERIOD
Credit Police
Bellevue
Clyde Hill
Kirkland
Medina
Mercer Island
SMOOTHING PERIOD
Credit Fire
Bellevue
Bothell
Eastside Fire & Rescue
KCFD # 27 Fall City
KCFD # 45 Duvall
KCFD # 50 Skykomish
Kirkland
Mercer Island
Northshore Fire
Redmond
Shoreline Fire
Snoqualmie
Snoqualmie Pass Fire & Rescue
Woodinville Fire & Rescue
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
$
345,053 $
(16,616)
(233,593)
(21,969)
(72,875)
2009
335,250 $
(17,778)
(223,435)
(22,168)
(71,868)
2010
298,800 $
(13,641)
(204,160)
(16,364)
(64,635)
2011
249,600 $
(4,891)
(204,473)
(5,724)
(34,512)
2012
208,350 $
(4,937)
(160,598)
(5,514)
(37,302)
2013
174,000 $
(4,199)
(136,094)
(5,075)
(28,633)
2014
145,350 $
(3,468)
(114,192)
(5,093)
(22,597)
2015
66,150
(1,578)
(51,970)
(2,318)
(10,284)
2016
$
805,124 $
(71,015)
(136,133)
(11,341)
(14,979)
(5,092)
(110,564)
(34,613)
(50,396)
(156,131)
(138,839)
(12,569)
(4,852)
(63,692)
782,250 $
(72,161)
(140,254)
(10,202)
(14,758)
(5,415)
(109,126)
(36,287)
(50,871)
(136,731)
(129,993)
(12,220)
(4,531)
(59,701)
697,200 $
(66,573)
(129,225)
(8,003)
(13,589)
(5,063)
(97,654)
(34,430)
(44,115)
(116,943)
(116,943)
(11,172)
(3,740)
(49,750)
582,400 $
(53,747)
(99,849)
(5,987)
(10,234)
(3,314)
(81,915)
(27,959)
(34,838)
(108,398)
(107,187)
(9,942)
(3,175)
(35,854)
486,150 $
(45,234)
(82,745)
(4,689)
(8,018)
(2,484)
(67,908)
(23,499)
(28,220)
(89,854)
(89,646)
(8,381)
(2,978)
(32,494)
406,000 $
(37,970)
(69,776)
(4,129)
(6,482)
(2,068)
(59,966)
(18,944)
(23,031)
(72,603)
(75,370)
(6,853)
(2,778)
(26,029)
339,150 $
(35,653)
(58,621)
(3,316)
(5,325)
(1,585)
(49,654)
(15,508)
(19,013)
(59,883)
(63,508)
(5,976)
(2,259)
(18,850)
154,350
(16,226)
(26,679)
(1,509)
(2,423)
(721)
(22,598)
(7,058)
(8,653)
(27,253)
(28,903)
(2,720)
(1,028)
(8,579)
53
FINANCE
Billable Calls for Service
The participating agencies provide the majority of operating revenue to NORCOM. The
method of allocating this revenue source is defined in the Interlocal Agreement, Appendix
A. NORCOM’s budget is allocated into two separate cost pools – 50% of the operating
budget is allocated to police and 50% of the operating budget is allocated to fire. The
50/50 split was determined by an average of two factors – the staffing allocated to each
charged operation (police or fire) and the volume of calls attributed to each charged
operation.
The annual average billable calls for service are determined based on the number of
billable calls for service for the charged operation over the two-year historical call
calculation period. The call calculation period is defined at the first calendar quarter of the
preceding budget year, and the seven calendar quarters preceding that.
Call Calculation Period
The percentages are applied to the current approved budget, less revenue from all other
sources. Subscriber user fees are calculated at 106% of the user fee that an agency would
pay if it were a principal.
Data consistent with business plan assumptions was used to determine cost allocations for
the 2009 budget year. In 2008, until NORCOM went live in July of 2009, Calls for Service data
was not available consistent with the ILA definition; mutual aid calls were counted and
Advance Life Support (ALS) calls were charged to each agency involved in the call. After
a year of significant analysis, the Governing Board approved Resolution 30 in June of 2010
amending the Calls for Service definition using the “one call, one bill” philosophy.
54
FINANCE
Other Revenue
The King County E-9-1-1 office collects excise taxes for wireline, wireless, and VoIP services.
All Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) in King County receive quarterly distributions from
the King County E-9-11office
if
call
answering standards
set by the office are
met. These funds are
used to help offset the
cost of operations and
are transferred to the
operating
fund
as
needed.
The distribution for the
last three years is
summarized in the
chart to the right.
E-9-1-1 revenues have decreased due to the outdated wireline formula used to determine
NORCOM’s portion. Over the years, phone usage has evolved from primarily wireline to
primarily wireless service. This significant change has negatively impacted the way E-9-1-1
revenue is distributed.
55
FINANCE
Cost Per Call
Beginning with the 2012 Annual Report, NORCOM began reporting on a national metric
known as “Cost per Call.” This phrase is a term of art and must be distinguished from what
is commonly referred to at NORCOM as “Cost per Call.” Historically, NORCOM has used
this phrase to refer to the costs billed to agencies for dispatched calls.
The national metric of “Cost per Call,” or CPC, is quite different and quite important
particularly for evaluating center performance vis-à-vis other similar centers. CPC is a
common measure of operational efficiency that is used throughout the spectrum of call
centers from small to large. This metric also is commonly used to compare one center to
another in benchmarking. CPC can simply be a labor cost per call, or it can be a fully
loaded rate that includes wage rates in addition to telecommunications, facilities, and
other costs.
In determining how to calculate CPC, it is critical to define the variables used and to use
them consistently in conducting comparisons with other centers or in evaluating how well
the center is using financial resources over time. Although each center will have different
equipment and software, each center is providing the same basic service. CPC therefore
provides a measure of how efficient that center vis-à-vis other centers is with respect to its
staffing as well as its maintenance and operations. Monitoring cost per call allows
management to determine where to spend valuable funds on technology and process
improvement, and to spot trends that necessitate further inquiry and action.
The Distinction Between
Total Call Volume and Individual Call Types Call
In order to be an effective measure of call center efficiency, CPC must account for the
total volume of calls handled by a communications center. As with all primary emergency
communication centers, NORCOM handles a mix of emergency 9-1-1 calls and nonemergency calls. Call takers triage all these calls and route them according to established
protocols and procedures. Thus, the use of total calls for CPC analysis is the best means to
capture the entire call center workload and is therefore the most appropriate measure to
include in CPC calculations as opposed to a focus on just 9-1-1 calls or just non-emergency
calls. Singling out only one type of call does not provide a full assessment of a call center’s
performance over time and does not provide for a full comparison to the entire operations
of other centers. That said, NORCOM also analyses CPC for 9-1-1 calls as a secondary facet
of its CPC analysis.
56
FINANCE
The Distinction between
“Cost per Call for Service” and “Cost per Call”
As mentioned in the opening paragraph on this topic, CPC must be distinguished from
methodologies by which many multi-agency communication centers bill for their services.
Often, such centers bill agencies based on “Calls for Service” or “Calls Dispatched” (the
terms “calls for service” and “calls dispatched” are not always synonymous). In addition,
all types of call centers report the number of “Calls for Service” or “Calls Dispatched” to
the agencies they serve for those agencies’ use in their own reporting and analysis.
Unfortunately, unlike CPC, there is no common agreement or universally accepted
definition of what constitutes a “Call for Service.” For example, some centers define “Calls
for Service” to be the sum total of all CAD entries made in response to 9-1-1 calls, traffic
stops by police officers, and on-view incidents by police officers. Other centers may not
include all these categories or may include other categories. For centers that both bill on
a “Calls for Service” basis and also monitor performance and conduct comparative
analysis based on “CPC,” it is important not to confuse the two or misunderstand the basic
differences between them and their correct application.
A key point is that “Calls for Service” are not a valid basis to conduct comparative
analysis between call centers because of the lack of uniformity in how a call for service is
defined.
In 2015, NORCOM Telecommunicators handled 316,520 calls. Budgeted operating
expenditures in were $11,803,681; therefore, NORCOM’s CPC for 2015 was $37.29.
Total
Expenditures
Total Workload
Calls
Cost per Call
2011
Cost per Call
2012
2013
$10,664,946 $10,977,408
2014
2015
$10,740,449
$11,192,001
$11,803,681
406,285
374,436
316,657
338,664
316,520
$26.25
$29.32
$33.92
$33.05
$37.29
NORCOM is working toward identifying cost centers for communications, administration
and information technology services in order to better define CPC for the communications
center. The 2011-2014 operating budget reported above is for NORCOM as a whole and
includes all cost centers.
57
FINANCE
2015 Accomplishments
o
Worked with the finance committee to analyze user fee structure and provided
recommendations for future user fee structure options.
o
Worked with the wellness committee to create and implement a wellness program
that will qualify NORCOM to earn the AWC WellCity Award.
o
Participated in the logging recorder request for proposal and contract negations
to purchase a logging recorder and QA system.
o
Participated in RESOLVE training and contract negotiations with the NORCOM
Associated Guild.
o
Updated the financial code of ethics policy.
2016 Initiatives
o
Monitor the operational needs of both police and fire/EMS stakeholders and the
impacts of the staffing model that has been adopted and funded in the
operations budget.
o
Continue work with Information Technology, Technology Committee, and Finance
Committee to develop and implement Service Level Agreements between the
agencies and NORCOM.
o
Review purchasing policy and update as needed.
o
Continue to track net available work hours for telecommunicators.
o
Continue to work toward earning the AWC WellCity Award.
58
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Dee Hathaway
425.577.5682
[email protected]
NORCOM’s Information Technology (IT) department provides technology support,
services and solutions to our Communication Center and participating Police, Fire and
Emergency Medical Service agencies. With a continuing focus on maturing the IT
business unit, 2015 efforts were directed at bringing existing systems current, strategic
planning for infrastructure and project work, standardizing processes and procedures,
updating documentation, and improving communication.
NORCOM IT takes pride in partnering with and servicing its agencies by implementing and
supporting business focused technologies. IT services, processes and communications are
driven by its mission statement and goals.
Mission Statement and Goals
The Information Technology mission is to deliver technology solutions and services to meet
the needs of our communications center, police agencies, fire agencies and internal
business units. Our goals include being able to:
o
Exceed the expectations of our customers.
o
Improve efficiencies through automation and the application of new technology.
o
Provide responsive and proactive services to our public safety community.
o
Continually improve on our quality of support, technical skills, processes and
documentation.
o
Collaborate with other public safety entities to provide additional value to our
agencies and citizens.
59
Service and Support
IT supports NORCOM’s business units: 14 fire agencies and 5 police agencies. Support is
provided through daily operations, new project implementations and maintenance of its
infrastructure and systems.
IT is responsible for a broad range of technologies and systems to support everything from
the receipt of a 9-1-1 call to the Records Management Systems. Some of these systems are
the 9-1-1 phone systems, two Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems, police and fire
mobile data computers (MDCs), police and fire records management systems, corrections,
fire station alerting, radios, pagers, recordings and numerous interfaces.
All critical systems have 24/7/365 IT support.
Administration
10%
Projects
25%
GIS
4%
Maintenance
10%
Other
18%
Help Desk
33%
Law enforcement, fire and medical services are rarely served in a silo, therefore IT works
closely with outside agencies on regional projects and committees to further support its
communications center, fire and police agencies.
60
61
2015 Accomplishments and Highlights
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Upgraded New World software suite from 10.0 to 10.2.
Upgraded TriTech from version 4.5 to version 5.5.
Replaced 43 TriTech dispatch computers that are at end of life and on an
unsupported operating system. The computer replacement fulfills the hardware
requirement needed for the next fire CAD system upgrade.
Implemented fire preplans in mobile data computers.
Built interfaces for the TriTech test environment to allow for end-to-end testing in new
versions of software.
Built Kirkland Police Inmate Query web site.
Upgraded Zoll Fire RMS.
Installed new locution systems at MIFD ST92, ESFD ST76 and ST88.
Developed an Inmate Tracking System for the City of Kirkland.
Implemented CJIS compliant 2-Factor Authentication system to provide a hosted
solution for police agencies needing access to CJIS data from unsecure/less secure
locations.
Built a new Fire CAD and Mobile Production environment to replace end-of-life
servers and operating systems.
Replaced eight end-of-life core network servers, consolidating into five servers.
Completed the replacement of the Storage Area Network (SAN). The new system
provided the following improvements:
 Database jobs run up to 75% faster.
 Data transfer speeds are 200-400% faster.
 Required rack space is 50% less.
Expanded the Storage Area Network (SAN) to allow for improved performance,
consolidation, and additional drive availability across both our test and productions
environments.
Upgraded the speed of the network backbone to 10 gigabytes, providing highspeed, redundant links between servers and switches.
Installed and configured an Intrusion Detection appliance to increase the security
of our network.
Successfully filled the vacant IT Director position.
Successfully filled the vacant Applications Analyst position.
62
Project Management
In 2015, NORCOM IT spent 25% of its focus towards Project related activities. Two members
of the team were designated as Police and Fire systems supervisors to work directly with
those agencies and better understand their operations, enabling IT to provide better
service and support and ensure a higher level of project success.
The following charts breaks down IT Project time for 2015.
Projects
Top 5 Projects by IT Effort
Police
15%
New World
10.2x Upgrade
10%
TriTech System
Upgrade
64%
NORCOM
25%
Phone System
Replacement
9%
Fire
60%
Tritech Fire
Fire Pre-Plans Mobile
9%
8%
Help Desk
For day-to-day issues and requests, NORCOM IT currently supports:
1,600+ supported users
254 police and fire mobile data computers
806 registered users in NOTIS
75+ NORCOM desktops/laptops
Users are able to submit issues and requests to NORCOM IT via phone, email or website,
which we then track using NOTIS (NORCOM Online Ticket Issue System).
In 2015, there were 3,066 new tickets opened / submitted, which was a 2% increase over
2014. The number of tickets closed in 2014 was 2,965; 97% of the number submitted.
63
The NOTIS system was revamped in 2014 to incorporate feedback from our user satisfaction
survey. Results of the survey led to less confusing menus, additional ways to report issues
and drastically cut down the amount of emails people received. In addition, the NOTIS
restructure was in preparation for eventual implementation of a service level agreement.
Although a service level agreement has not yet been adopted, IT staff have started
working and measuring against the performance measures outlined in the draft service
level agreement.
2015 Help Desk Statistics
Non-Project Requests by Type
Problem
Request
Maintenance
Administrative (Non-Project Work)
Grand Total
Non-Project Requests by Priority
1 - Critical
2 - Major
3 - Important
3 - On site
4 - Desirable
4 - On site
5 - Low Impact Low Urgency
Grand Total
Percent
60%
39%
1%
0%
100%
64
Percent
0%
1%
22%
0%
74%
0%
3%
100%
Geographic Information Systems
Geographic Information System (GIS) data plays a critical part in the processing of 911 calls
as the response starts with both the location of the incident and the available units.
NORCOM GIS is committed to providing the most accurate GIS data possible to ensure
that our first responders arrive at their call destinations in the timeliest manner possible. To
accomplish this, NORCOM GIS works closely with our cities’ GIS and permitting
departments, as well as regional agencies to obtain and incorporate the most up-to-date
GIS data.
NORCOM matches its address data against the King County E-911 address database to
measure GIS data accuracy. For the police service area, the match rate is approximately
99.5% and the fire service area has a 95.5% match rate.
A 2016 project to consolidate and use one geo-database for both CAD systems will bring
the Fire service areas match rate to 99.5%.
Some interesting facts:
•
•
•
•
•
GIS currently supports and maintains geographic datasets for two CAD systems
Total Address points maintained: approx. 500,000
Total road miles in NORCOM Boundary: approx. 8,000
Total road miles: approximately 4,000
Total number of map layer datasets maintained: 25
65
Police Services
Total unique address points: 76,500
Total square miles: 62
Total road miles: 1,050
66
Fire Services
Total unique address points: 215,500
Total square miles: 620
Total road miles: 4,038
67
Staffing
The IT business unit is authorized for 10 full-time employees that support, manage, maintain
the day-to-day operational needs of its public safety users and the systems they use as well
as to manage, implement and support new projects.
In 2015, the IT Director position was filled by Dee Hathaway. Mr. Hathaway has nearly 30
years of experience in IT with the last dozen as IT Director for the City of Buckeye, Arizona.
He is a certified Project Management Professional and has earned credentials from
Microsoft, CompTIA and multiple other vendors. Mr. Hathaway holds a Bachelor’s Degree
in Business – IT Management from Western Governor’s University.
The position of Applications Analyst was filled by Andrew Johnson, a NORCOM employee
for over five years. Prior to joining the IT Department, he worked as a telecommunicator
and spent the last few years as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) with the IT department.
Mr. Johnson currently serves public safety outside of NORCOM as a volunteer firefighter.
He brings solid experience with both the technical and operational aspects of NORCOM
as well as a background in radio operations and maintenance. Mr. Johnson is a graduate
of Johnson and Wales University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management.
from left: Karen Furuya, Nathan Way, Mike Prill, Khai Tran, Pete Luke, Ed Whitford,
Zeb Middleton, Andrew Johnson and Simon Jenkins
68
2016 IT Initiatives
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Replace the end-of-life primary virtual hosting servers.
Replace the end-of-life core infrastructure equipment.
Replace the wireless access points at our primary location.
Add wireless networking capabilities to the remote location.
Upgrade the core infrastructure to 10 gigabyte speed and the network backbone
to 40 gigabyte speed.
Consolidate mobile/cellular systems and budget to IT rather than being managed
by individual departments.
Implement a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution and accompanying
policy.
In cooperation with the PIO, develop a Social Media policy.
Rebrand and enhance the CAD WebView application and formalize its update
and release processes.
Upgrade the Tyler Technology (New World) software suite.
Working with Northrup Grumman, complete the installation of the LInX (Legal
Information Network eXchange) application.
Implement the PulsePoint application (in cooperation with Seattle Fire and Medic
One Foundation).
Finish the upgrade of the eCBD (electronic Criteria Base Dispatch) system.
Finalize the development and implementation of the ESO interface with TriTech.
Implement NORCOM hosting of FirstWatch.
Investigate the feasibility of hosting the Code 3 simulator application for our Fire
agencies.
Consolidate two CAD geo-databases to provide data consistency between the
Police and Fire CAD systems and to streamline the maintenance of the GIS data.
(carried over from 2015)
Bellevue Fire mobile data computer replacement. (carried over from 2015)
Redmond Fire mobile data computer replacement. (carried over from 2015)
Eastside Fire and Rescue mobile data computer replacement. (carried over from
2015)
Continue to pursue Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity planning.
Continue development of a formal security program.
Continue development of the Project Management Office (PMO).
Continue to work with NORCOM Fire agencies in the development and
implementation of a Fire RMS Strategy.
Continue to review, develop and institute policies and procedures.
69
Memberships and Committees
NORCOM’s IT staff participate in a number of committees and memberships to collaborate
with agencies and stay informed with what is happening in the region and the public safety
and IT industries at large. This is in alignment with our goal to “collaborate with other public
safety entities to provide additional value to our agencies and citizens.” A few are listed
below.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO)
Community Connectivity Consortium. The Consortium coordinates, acquires,
operates and manages the sharing and building of regional fiber connectivity
between government agencies, hospitals, schools, universities and PSAPs.
King County E-911 Technical/IT/Map Users’ Group.
National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
Public Safety Technology Committee (PSTC) Fiber/Wireless Subcommittee. This
subcommittee is the single interface between the participating cities and SERS in
developing /discussing fiber connectivity between King and Snohomish counties.
Puget Sound Regional Interoperability Executive Committee (PSR-IEC) Committee.
The PSR-IEC is a three-county organization chartered by the UASI Core Group to
plan improvements to public safety communications networks in the UASI area.
PSAP CAD Interoperability Subcommittee.
Project Management Institute (PMI).
New World Northwest Regional Users Group.
New World Mobile Advisory Group.
New World Law Enforcement Records Advisory Group.
70
RECOGNITION: Five Year Coin
NORCOM has established an Employee Recognition Committee to determine and
coordinate methods for recognition of all team members.
Five Years of Service Award
Seven NORCOM employees were recognized in 2015 for 5 years of employment with
NORCOM. Honored were Telecommunicators Julie Smith, Tammie Oien, Josh Baker, Skip
DeHennis, Dottie Olson, and Kenny Solberg, Team Supervisor Josh Baker, and IT Member
Andrew Johnson.
Not all of our team members were able to attend board meetings for presentations.
Coins and certificates were presented later to them.
A five year recognition coin was presented to those reaching this milestone.
Josh Baker
Team Supervisor
Julie Smith
Telecommunicator
The Five Year Coin
71
RECOGNITION: 2014 Annual Awards
In April 2015, the following Annual Awards were presented at the Principal’s Assembly.
Margaux Lallas
Angel Francois
Emergency Medical Dispatcher of the Year
Exemplary Handling of an EMS Incident
Presented by Amy Warrior, King County EMS
Emergency Medical Dispatcher of the Year
Sustained Exemplary Performance
Josh Baker
Charlene Inman
Supervisor of the Year
(Presented by nominator Sheryl Mullen)
Administrative Employee of the Year
(Presented by nominator Gwen Pilo)
Jessica Cannon
Zeb Middleton
Telecommunicator of the Year
(Presented by nominator Becky McCracken)
IT Member of the Year
(Presented by nominator Sheryl Mullen)
72
Roky Louie
Edison Award Winner
(Presented by Tom Orr)
Members of the TriTech Mobile Upgrade Team accepting the 2014 Team Award
Roky Louie
2014 Edison Award Winner
(presented by Tom Orr)
73
RECOGNITION: C.A.R.E.S.
Throughout 2015, recognition cards were received for NORCOM team members. These
came from fellow NORCOM personnel as well as participating agency personnel.
Employees of the Quarter were selected from those recognition cards. The 2015 Employees
of the Quarter were recognized at Governing Board and Joint Operations Board meetings.
Employees of the 1st Quarter
Andrew Johnson, IT
Not pictured: Telecommunicator Tammie Oien
Employees of the 2nd Quarter
(from left) Mike Prill and Nathan Way of IT;
Telecommunicator/CTO Jami Hoppen; Supervisor Josh Baker.
Not pictured: Marla Smithhisler from Administration.
74
RECOGNITION: C.A.R.E.S.
Employees of the 3rd Quarter
(from left): Karen Furuya, IT;
Telecommunicator/ CTO Becky McCracken; Supervisor Josh Baker.
Not pictured: Telecommunicator/CTO Dottie Olson; Charlene Inman from Administration.
Employees of the 4th Quarter
(from left) Ed Whitford, IT; Roky Louie, Supervisor.
Not pictured: Telecommunicator Jeremy Henshaw and
Keith Polzin from Administration.
75
RECOGNITION: WA APCO-NENA AWARDS
WA APCO-NENA ANNUAL AWARDS
Presented at Public Safety Training Conference
Kennewick, WA June 2015
NORCOM had two team members
recognized as Washington State Annual
Award winners.
Telecommunicator
Jessica Cannon has been with NORCOM
since July 1, 2009.
Her nomination
included
information
about
her
participation on NORCOM’s Tactical
Dispatch Team, WA APCO-NENA’s TERT
Team (including participation in a
September 2014 training exercise in South
Bend,
WA),
NORCOM’s
Employee
Recognition Team, Mentorship Program,
participation
in
the
creation
of
NORCOM’s Active Shooter scenario drill, and leadership with NORCOM’s police and fire
appreciation activities. She is an excellent telecommunicator and a person who
demonstrates NORCOM’s cultural values of Cooperation, Accountable, Respectful,
Excellent, and Supportive.
76
RECOGNITION: WA APCO-NENA AWARDS
IT Member Zeb Middleton has been with NORCOM since August
2013.
His nomination included information about his
commitment to understanding technology needs from an
operations perspective. He was also recognized for his work
with King County E9-1-1 coordinating upgrades, replacements,
and development of roll-back options. He is responsible for the
maintenance, optimizing, and modernization of the in
frastructure in NORCOM’s server room. His nomination included
details about his participation in operations exercises and sitting
with Telecommunicators to better understand their technology
needs and how they use the systems. As one of a team of IT
staff working on the various technology needs, Zeb responds
24/7/365 and demonstrates NORCOM’s cultural values in his
efforts to do his job while reducing the impact on others. Zeb
was unable to attend the ceremony so Jessica (above) posed
with his award.
NORCOM conference attendees posed with the
traveling and individual plaques at the awards
banquet.
From left: Jami Hoppen, Becky
McCracken, Jessica Cannon, Skip DeHennis, Sheryl
Mullen, Kenny Solberg and Cory James (kneeling)
77
NORCOM Family Picnic
Building on the success of the 5 Year Celebration in 2014, NORCOM hosted a “Bring Your
Family and Dogs BBQ” on August 9, 2015. The event was co-sponsored by the Employee
Recognition Committee & NORCOM On Track (Wellness Committee). Activities included
a potluck, best side dish & dessert competition, watermelon eating contest, games, and
social time away from work.
78
Annual awards for 2015 will be presented at the 2016 Principal’s Assembly/Governing
Board meeting.
King County Emergency Medical Services
Emergency Medical Dispatchers of the Year
Nominations for these awards are submitted by NORCOM and are selected by the King
County Dispatch Review Committee (DRC). This committee, made up of fire personnel,
dispatch center representatives, and King County Medic One staff, reviews the
nominations and makes the selection.
King County Emergency Medical Dispatcher of the Year
For Sustained Exemplary Performance
Krystal McCoy
Krystal has been with NORCOM since it began and was previously a part
of Eastside Communications for some time. She sets the bar for good
customer service and has an attitude that exemplifies our C.A.R.E.S.
values. In part, her nomination stated that she is “so compassionate and
patient with callers. She has excellent customer service skills and has a
definite skill of being able to calm down agitated callers. She is truly an
excellent example of what all call receivers should strive for.”
King County Emergency Medical Dispatcher of the Year
Exemplary Handling of a Critical Incident
Chris Perez
Chris has been with NORCOM since 2013 and received this award for a
medical call involving a 14 year old patient in cardiac arrest. He provided
telephone CPR instructions to her 14 year old friends located on a hiking
trail. Chris not only handled this call well, but represented NORCOM with
utmost professionalism when spoken with by the fire department, city
council, and media. In part, his nomination stated “It is certain that without
Chris’s swift action, effective call screening, and comforting tone, this call
may have had a less desirable outcome. As it was, the patient was
tended to by units on scene (who confirmed she was in cardiac arrest),
and transported to Children’s Hospital where she made a full recovery.”
79
NORCOM Annual Awards
Top Row:
Elizabeth Thomas - Telecommunicator of the Year
Roky Louie – Supervisor of the Year
2nd Row:
Karen Furuya – IT Employee of the Year
Sheryl Mullen – Administrative Employee of the Year
Kenny Solberg – Edison Award for Ingenuity
80
NORCOM Teams of the Year
Operations Leadership Team
(From left: Josh Baker, Melissa Crawford, Katy Gilbert, Sandy Hogue, Cory James,
Amanda Kolling and Roky Louie)
TriTech CAD Upgrade Team
(From left: Josh Baker, Karen Furuya, Jami Hoppen, Simon Jenkins, Andrew Johnson, Pete Luke,
Zeb Middleton, Mike Prill, Khai Tran, Nathan Way and Ed Whitford)
81
Call Type Recognition
NORCOM Telecommunicators are trained to provide pre-arrival instructions for a
variety of incident types including childbirth and CPR.
King County Emergency Medical Services provides Lifesaver Coins for call receivers
who provide CPR instructions over the phone contributing to patients surviving that
critical event. 21 NORCOM call receivers received this recognition for calls
received in 2015.
When call receivers provide instructions to aid in childbirth over the phone, they are
recognized with a Stork pin and certificate. Three Call Receivers were recognized
for the roll they played in delivering a baby over the phone in 2015. The parents of
the baby receive a special bib and congratulatory card from NORCOM.
Traci Darcy
Lifesaver Award
Dave Stuby and Paula Burns
Lifesaver Awards
82
Appreciation Days
Appreciation Days
NORCOM recognizes team members from multiple business units throughout the year.
National Public Safety Telecommunicator Appreciation Week in April, Tech Team
Appreciation Day in July, Supervisor Appreciation Day in October, and Administrative
Staff Appreciation Day in April. These events include a small gift and a meal.
83
NORCOM
2017 Proposed Budget Policy
Discussion Paper
April 8, 2016
NORCOM’s budget process is part of an overall policy framework that guides the
services and functions of the agency. The budget serves a key role by allocating
financial resources to the programs, which implement NORCOM’s mission and
core values. The budget also establishes financial policies to influence the
availability of future resources that continue to carry out NORCOM’s mission and
core values.
Budget Policy development involves several steps. NORCOM budget policy starts
with an understanding of service levels and issues impacting operations.
NORCOM’s management team evaluates performance measures to assess
organizational costs and effectiveness, and determine issues impacting 2017
operating priorities and the level of funding for each. Budget policies are
statements that describe how financial resources will be obtained, allocated,
managed, and controlled.
NORCOM’s mission statement and core values are the broad policy statements
that outline the objectives of the Governing Board. Budget objectives are policy
statements summarizing the actions that are to be implemented in the budget.
Financial Management Policies
The following policies will guide the manner in which NORCOM develops,
allocates, manages and controls financial resources available to the agency. These
policies are the goals that the Governing Board seeks to achieve in its decision
making and most are documented in NORCOM’s Standard Operating Procedures.
However, since fiscal conditions and circumstances continually shift and change in
response to operating needs, it may not be practical or always desirable to
1|Page
continually achieve these policies. Therefore, these policies are intended to guide,
not govern, financial decision making and may not be fully achieved within any
budget period.
General Financial Goals
• To provide a financial base sufficient to sustain consistent high quality
emergency service communications to the public for emergency medical
services, fire and police by receiving calls for service; dispatching resources,
tracking and coordinating information flow and resources, initiating records
for all emergency events, and enhancing effectiveness, efficiency,
coordination and interoperability of emergency service providers.
• To be able to withstand local and regional economic hardships sustained by
our participating and subscribing agencies and adjust to changes in their
service level requirements.
Operating Budget Policies
• The operating budget is NORCOM’s comprehensive financial plan which
provides for the level of services prescribed by the Participating Agencies,
including additional services or new programs as approved in subsequent
years. A new budget will be adopted every year as a result of a
comprehensive process incorporating any newly approved programs,
inflationary increases, and other expenses. New programs will be analyzed
by the Executive Director and Finance Manager before being presented to
the Finance Committee and the Joint Operating Board for their analysis and
review and, if approved, incorporated into the budget. No “one-time”
expenses will be carried forward into subsequent budgets without specific
authority.
• NORCOM defines a balanced budget as current annual revenues (including
fund balances) being equal to or greater than current annual expenditures.
• All current operating expenditures will be paid from current revenues and
cash carried over from the prior year. Current revenues and operating
expenditures will be reviewed quarterly during the year. It is the policy of
2|Page
NORCOM to attempt to utilize beginning balances and other one-time
revenues for one-time/non-recurring expenditures only.
• All supplemental appropriations for programs requested after the original
budget is adopted, will only be approved by the Governing Board after
consideration of the availability of revenues.
• NORCOM will maintain revenue and expenditure categories according to
state statute and administrative regulation.
Revenue Policies:
• “Other” Revenues (E911 funds, KCEMS funds, etc.) shall be realistically
estimated and based upon the most recent information available.
• NORCOM will seek to avoid dependence on temporary or unstable
revenues to fund ongoing mission critical services.
• Grant funds or similar contractual revenue of a temporary nature will be
budgeted only if they are committed at the time of the preliminary budget.
Otherwise, separate appropriations will be made during the year as grants
are awarded or contracts made.
Expenditure Policies:
• The NORCOM budget will provide for a sustainable level of service for the
well-being of employees and safety of the emergency service providers.
• Expenditures approved by the Governing Board in the annual budget define
NORCOM’s spending limits for the upcoming year. In addition to legal
requirements, NORCOM will maintain an operating philosophy of cost
control and responsible financial management.
• The Governing Board will be provided with a discussion paper for any new
program detailing the expenditure, the recommended funding source, an
analysis of the fiscal impact and a review of all reserves and previously
approved amendments since budget adoption.
• Emphasis is placed on improving individual and work group productivity
rather than adding to the work force. NORCOM will invest in technology
and other efficiency tools to maximize productivity. NORCOM will request
3|Page
additional staff only after the need of such positions has been
demonstrated and documented.
Capital Projects
• NORCOM will maintain all its assets at an acceptable level to protect capital
investment and to minimize future maintenance and replacement costs.
• NORCOM will conduct an equipment replacement and maintenance needs
analysis, using a cash flow method, for the next several years and will
update this projection every two years. From this projection a maintenance
and replacement schedule will be developed and followed.
• NORCOM will identify the estimated costs and potential funding sources for
each capital project proposal before it is submitted for approval.
• NORCOM will coordinate development of the Capital Projects budget with
development of the operating budget. Future operating costs associated
with new capital project will be projected and included in operating budget
forecasts.
Operating Reserves and Contingency:
• Per section 12h of the ILA, each budget year the Governing Board shall set
the Operating Expense Reserve at a level that ensures funds are on hand to
reasonably address unforeseen operating contingencies. NORCOM
currently maintains an Operating Expense Reserve at a level equal to 5% of
the total Operating Budget. For the purpose of determining Operating
Expense Reserve funding, the Governing Board defines the Operating
Budget as the operating fund expenses less salaries, benefits, and onetime
expenses.
• Capital Equipment Replacement will be fully funded according to the cash
flow schedule to minimize large increases in User Fees from year to year
resulting from acquisition or replacement of capital, and to fund the timely
replacement of aging technology, equipment and systems.
• The Rate Stabilization Fund shall not exceed 10% of current Operating Fund
Revenues. The amount in the fund shall be analyzed to determine the long4|Page
term effect on rates. If it is determined that funds will be used to offset
transition to higher rates or fund onetime expenditures the designated
amount shall be applied to the overall budget prior to calculating
assessments.
• All expenditures drawn from reserve accounts shall require prior Board
approval unless previously authorized for expenditure in the annual
budget.
Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting Policies
• NORCOM will establish and maintain a high standard of accounting
practices.
• Accounting and budgetary systems will, at all times, conform to Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles, the State of Washington Budgeting
Accounting Reporting System (BARS) and local regulations.
• A comprehensive accounting system will be maintained to provide all
financial information necessary to effectively operate NORCOM.
• NORCOM’s budget documents shall be presented in a format that provides
for logical comparison with prior annual actual totals wherever possible.
• Reports outlining the status of revenues and expenditures shall be done
monthly beginning in March of each year and will be distributed to the
Governing Board, Joint Operations Board, Executive Director, Finance
Committee, Department managers and any other interested party.
• An annual audit will be performed by the State Auditor’s Office.
Budget Calendar
• In order to facilitate and implement the budget process the Finance
Manager will develop and distribute a budget calendar.
5|Page
Issues impacting the 2017 Budget
• NORCOM is approaching the development of the 2017 budget using a zero
based budget strategy and performance measurement tools to insure that
all costs are validated and justified.
• Staff recommends the 2017 budget process address the following issues:
o Facilitation of a Strategic Plan
o TriTech/New World CAD interface and/or a future CAD Solution
o Research new facility relocation funding options
o 2016 Pilot Reorganization
o Development of an Accreditation plan
o Implementation of ILA changes
o User Fee implementation
o PSEU #519 negotiations
o Website redesign
o Update the Command Control Viewing System
o Research and review of a Public Records Portal
o Continue to participate in the E-911 Regional Governance structure
6|Page
2017 BUDGET CALENDAR
JANUARY
Executive Director presents Budget Policy to Joint Op. Board/ILA 12(b)
January 28
MARCH
Joint Operating Board transmits policies to principals/ILA 12(b)
March 7
APRIL
Joint Ops Board presents proposed budget policy at Principles Assembly/ILA 8
April 8
MAY
Principals Assembly provides review and comment to Governing Board
Governing Board adopts budget policy/ILA 12(b)
Budget development complete
by May 1
May 13
by May 31
JUNE
Executive Director presents preliminary budget to Joint Op. Board/ILA 12(c)
User Fee updates complete
June 23
June 30
AUGUST
Proposed budget transmitted to Governing Board/ILA 12(c)
Public hearing & budget approval by Governing Board/ILA 12(c)
by August 1
August 12
SEPTEMBER
Participating agencies advised of 2017 budget and user fees/ILA 12(c)
by September 5
DECEMBER
Approval by the legislative authorities of each Principal/Subscriber/ILA 12(c)
Governing Board adopts final budget/ILA 12(c)
by Dec. 8
December 10
7|Page

NORCOM Principals Assembly

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