HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-10-2007-2dORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: April 10, 2007
Action Age a
Item No.
SUBJECT: Public Safety Telecommunicators' Week
DEPARTMENT: Orange County Emergency PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
Management Communications
ATTACHMENT(S):
Proclamation
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Gwen Snowden, 245-3030
PURPOSE: To proclaim the week of April 8 through 14, 2007, as Public Safety
Telecommunicators' Week in Orange County.
BACKGROUND: Two national organizations also recognize and proclaim this week on behalf
of telecommunicators nationwide. Those organizations are the Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials and the National Emergency Numbers Association.
Telecommunicators in Orange County are active in both organizations, working toward
enhancing the quality of service that communications centers provide.
The Orange County Communications Center provides 9-1-1 service to all people in the County
and dispatches appropriate resources in times of need. In 2006, the twenty-three Orange
County Telecommunicators processed nearly two-hundred-thousand (200,000) calls for service
for more than twenty-five (25) different response agencies. Ninety-seven percent of all 9-1-1
calls to the Orange County center were answered within the first three rings. Orange County's
Telecommunicators are among the most highly trained in the state, with all holding
Telecommunicator certification through the North Carolina Sheriff's Training and Standards
Commission, Emergency Medical Dispatch certification through the North Carolina Office of
EMS and the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch, and DCI Operator certification
through the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Criminal Information and Identification
Section. All Orange County Telecommunicators also hold certifications in the National Incident
Management System, Hazardous Materials, and Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation. Ten of the
Telecommunicators have been recognized-with Advanced Telecommunicator certification
through the Sheriff's Training and Standards Commission.
Telecommunicators are an integral part of the public safety network in Orange County, and
provide a valuable service to the people of the County. Professional Telecommunicators make
Orange County a safer place to live.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: None.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the Proclamation
and authorize the Chair to sign it.
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR'S WEEK
2007
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Thousands of dedicated Telecommunicators daily serve the residents of the United
States and Canada by answering their telephone calls for law enforcement, fire, and emergency
medical services by dispatching the appropriate assistance as quickly as possible; and
WHEREAS, The critical functions performed by professional Telecommunicators also include
those related to forestry and conservation operations, highway safety and maintenance activities,
and many other operations performed by federal, state and local government agencies; and
WHEREAS, Professional Telecommunicators work to improve the emergency response
capabilities of these communication systems through their leadership and participation in training
programs and other activities provided by the Association of Public Safety Communications
Officials and the National Emergency Number Association; and
WHEREAS, These associations are organizations of more than 100,000 people engaged in the
design, installation and operation of emergency response communications, and have set aside the
week beginning April 8, 2007, to recognize Telecommunicators and their crucial role in the
protection of life and property;
NOW, THEREFORE, we the Orange County Board of Commissioners hereby proclaim the week
of April 8-14, 2007, as "National Public Safety Telecornmunicators Week" in Orange County,
North Carolina, in honor and recognition of our County's Telecommunicators and the vital
contributions they make to the safety and well being of our citizens.
Adopted this 10th day of Apri12007.
Moses Carey, Chair
Board of County Commissioners