911 issue addressed

See editorial A4

In an effort to “enhance community safety and service quality,” and improve communications, the Sampson County Board of Commissioners and government administrators are taking a series of steps to improve the handling of 911 calls and, at the same time, are opening themselves up to questions from the general public.

The decisions came after a Tuesday afternoon closed-door session which, according to a release from the county, was held to “address recent issues with 911 call handling.”

The Independent has reported that on at least two occasions when rescue and/or fire personnel were dispatched, they were directed to wrong addresses, delaying response times.

During the Tuesday commissioners’ meeting, Emergency Services Director Rick Sauer acknowledged that protocols were overlooked in one call and an incorrect address given in another. Saturday’s call following a fatal wreck on I-40, the director told the board, was determined to have been handled correctly.

To address the issues, the press release notes that Sauer detailed to commissioners steps that would be taken to improve the situation, including ongoing training for staff, with a recently hired training officer focused on developing and implementing training programs to enhance protocol response.

In an interview late last week, Sauer pointed to human error and staff retention as reasons for the situations that occurred.

When commissioners asked about staffing Tuesday, the release noted that Sauer told them there were currently 13 fully trained positions filled out of a total 20. Three individuals are currently in training. With 113,000 calls received over the past year, the release notes, staffing and training challenges have been significant, similar to ones faced by other departments locally and nationwide.

Commissioners emphasized the importance of addressing these issues to ensure that all calls are managed efficiently and correctly moving forward and, according to the release, they voted unanimously to adopt a motion in support of the Emergency Services Department and its staff.

In addition, Sauer will discuss recent issues as an add-on to Monday’s Board of Commissioners meeting, to be held at 6 p.m. in the county auditorium, 435 Rowan Road. Meetings are also live-streamed on the county’s YouTube channel @sampsoncountygovernment.

Public meeting sessions also planned

In further steps to open lines of communication, commissioners are holding what they are calling a Process Improvement for Communications meeting, opening themselves up to questions from the general public about the 911 issues or, as chairman Jerol Kivett said, anything else they might have a concern they want to discuss.”

The sessions, to be held Thursday, Sept. 12, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the county administrative board room, 406 County Complex Road, will provide a setting where one to two commissioners — likely Kivett and co-chairwoman Sue Lee — Sauer, 911 Communications staff and county manager Ed Causey will sit down with up to three individuals at a time to answer questions and hear concerns. The meetings will end at 5 p.m.

“This will give people a chance to talk and us a chance to listen and answer questions,” Kivett said Thursday night.

The board chairman said the last week had given him a bitter taste, but after doing a “deep dive,” into what the problems are and coming up with a series of alternatives, meeting with administrative staff and offering their support of the people in each department, he believed getting the public involved and allowing them to express their concerns was the best way to proceed.

“Ed suggested it, but Sue and I were really pushing for something like this,” the chairman stressed. And, he assured, this was not a “one-and-done” kind of thing.

“I really believe a lot of good can come out of this. It was a bitter taste to start with but I see the good that can come out of all this.”

To participate in the conversation sessions, residents must pre-register by call 910-592-6308, ext. 2222, to schedule a slot. Meetings are set up for 30-minute sessions with a maximum of three attendees per session.

The release noted that everyone was encouraged to attend the meetings to “stay informed and engage in discussion on improving our emergency services.” Kivett took it further by saying the public’s participation was vital in helping improve any area of government.

“If you have a concern,” Kivett asserted, “so do we.”