Minneapolis' head of emergency communications defended service at the city's 911 center Wednesday in the wake of reports alleging understaffing that in some cases left callers waiting for an operator for minutes.
Heather Hunt told the City Council that the department hired six 911 employees this month and will bring on another six later this year. Most of the operators and dispatchers have been cross-trained to both answer calls and dispatch emergency responders in an effort that began three years ago, she added.
She said at least nine employees are on duty even during the slowest hours, and that the staffing meets standards recommended by a professional study. The city's 911 staff includes 68 operators and dispatchers.
"We are trying to get ahead of the game and with this next influx of staffing, I think we'll be able to get there," Hunt said during the presentation to the panel overseeing emergency management, with 911 workers in neon shirts crowded into council chambers.
The update to the council followed a report that WCCO aired last month describing 911 operators and dispatchers as frustrated with inadequate staffing caused by cross-training. Going undercover during early-morning shifts, the station found that only one operator answered calls at times and at one point someone was on hold for eight minutes.
A longtime dispatcher featured in the story, Robin Jones, wrote a letter to Mayor Betsy Hodges saying, "Critical events do not make appointments for our peak staffing periods."
Another report detailed claims that the family of Raymond Callahan called 911 in February when he was having a heart attack and could not get through. He later died in the hospital.
"That wasn't right," said Callahan's daughter, Karen Bailey, outside council chambers Wednesday as she teared up.