Cuyahoga County: Public Safety Answering Point ... - Cleveland.com

Cuyahoga County: PSAP Assessment 

January 6, 2012 

Cuyahoga County: 

Public Safety Answering Point Assessment 

Prepared by: 

Attevo, Inc. 

One Cleveland Center 

1375 E. 9th Street, Suite 2500 

Cleveland, OH 44114 

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Document Reference 

Property Description 

Customer Cuyahoga County, Department of Public Safety and 

Justice Services 

Executive Sponsor Norberto Colón, Deputy Chief of Staff, Justice 

Title Public Safety Answering Point Assessment 

Document Owner Amy Johnson, Attevo Manager 

Document Author Amy Johnson, Attevo Manager 

Document Reviewer Kindra Helm, Attevo Director 

Creation Date January 6, 2012 (Version 1) 

Document Change History 

Version Date Description of Change 

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Table of Contents 

1. Project Overview ........................................................................................ 5 

2. Project Approach ........................................................................................... 7 

2.1 Approach .................................................................................................................. 7 

2.2 PSAPs Included in the Study .................................................................................... 8 

2.3 Project Tasks & Deliverables ............................................................................... 9 

2.4 Project Assumptions ........................................................................................... 10 

2.5 Assessment Results Summary ............................................................................... 11 

3. Data Collection ............................................................................................. 12 

3.1 Data Limitations ...................................................................................................... 12 

4. PSAP Survey & Results ............................................................................... 14 

4.1 PSAP Survey .......................................................................................................... 14 

4.2 Annual Dispatch Budget & Call Volume Results ..................................................... 15 

4.3 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Vendors .............................................................. 16 

4.4 9-1-1 Technology Deployed and Age of Equipment ................................................ 17 

4.5 Number of Call Dispatchers, Takers and Workstations ........................................... 19 

4.6 Telephony Types .................................................................................................... 20 

4.7 Volume of Incoming Calls and Dispatched Calls by PSAP ..................................... 21 

4.8 Annual Cost of Individual PSAPs ............................................................................ 26 

5. Roundtable Discussions .............................................................................. 28 

5.1 Participants ............................................................................................................. 28 

5.2 Roundtable Discussion Points ................................................................................ 29 

6. Time Motion Studies .................................................................................... 31 

7. Failover Site for Cleveland ........................................................................... 33 

8. CECOMS Call Counts ................................................................................. 35 

9. Recommendations ....................................................................................... 37 

9.1 PSAP Consolidation ............................................................................................... 38 

9.1.1 Solon/Chagrin Valley ...................................................................................... 38 

9.1.2 SouthEast ....................................................................................................... 39 

9.1.3 SouthWest ...................................................................................................... 39 

9.1.4 Shaker Heights/Euclid/Beachwood/South Euclid ............................................ 40 

9.1.5 Cleveland ........................................................................................................ 40 

9.1.6 Eastcom and Westcom ................................................................................... 40 

9.2 CECOMS 9-1-1 Wireless Calls ............................................................................... 41 

9.3 Infrastructure .......................................................................................................... 43 

9.4 Technology Roadmap ............................................................................................. 43 

9.5 Governance Model ................................................................................................. 44 

9.5.1 Advisory Committee ........................................................................................ 44 

10. Risks ............................................................................................................ 45 

11. Appendix ...................................................................................................... 46 

11.1 PSAP Definition & Overview ................................................................................... 46 

11.1.1 Cuyahoga County PSAP Overview ................................................................. 46 

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11.2 9-1-1 Overview ....................................................................................................... 46 

11.3 Cost per Call Analysis by Individual PSAP ............................................................. 49 

12. Appendix ...................................................................................................... 50 

12.1 Correspondence to PSAPs ..................................................................................... 50 

12.2 Operational Budget Guidelines ............................................................................... 54 

13. Glossary of Terms ............................................................................ 55 

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1. Project Overview 

Cuyahoga County currently has 47 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) within 

its geographic footprint. For those PSAPs that participated in the study, it was 

clear that each takes great care in the handling of emergency calls and the 

quality of service is paramount. That being said, the sheer number of PSAPs 

throughout the County poses some obvious issues that range from limited 

interoperability in the region to the inability to maximize cost efficiencies. 

At a high level, the consolidation of a select number of PSAPs can provide the 

following benefits: 

Services improvements and efficiencies designed to improve multijurisdictional 

responses 

Technology advancements by leveraging enterprise applications 

Cost advantages by increasing buying power and decreasing the burden 

on the individual municipalities and taxpayers 

Regional, state and federal partnering opportunities 

This project conducts detailed analysis to better understand where overlap exists 

amongst the PSAPs in Cuyahoga County. The overall objective of this 

assessment is to determine the feasibility of reducing the number of PSAPs 

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within the County to both reduce costs for the areas of duplication identified and 

improve services. 

Listed below were the six key goals of the study. 

1. Assess the current 47 PSAPs that exist within Cuyahoga County 

2. Update the 9-1-1 Plan with relevant documented and collected data 

3. Research and, if possible, recommend a disaster recovery back-up site for 

the City of Cleveland 

4. Research and document recommendations for efficiencies related to the 

47 existing PSAPs that include regional consolidation suggestions 

5. Research and recommend changes to the current CECOMS structure and 

organization 

6. Research and recommend technology improvements to the 9-1-1 

infrastructure where applicable 

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2. Project Approach 

2.1 Approach 

Attevo applied our Project Management methodology to performing the following 

activities during the feasibility study: project management, strategic planning, 

information and requirements gathering, documentation, discovery, and project 

governance. 

Each agency was evaluated through a combination of survey results, focus group 

interviews, personal interviews, and public records searches. The Project Team 

was tasked with the following responsibilities throughout the duration of the 

project: 

Create a tailored questionnaire to be administered to all 47 PSAPs 

Review data returned from the questionnaire 

Conduct 12-14 in-person focus group interviews to understand any ad-hoc 

functionality that exists within the county PSAPs 

Review budget and organizational information from county PSAPs 

Research information on other counties that have consolidated PSAPs of 

similar size, functionality and technological complexity 

Research industry trends within key equipment areas (Positron, etc.) 

Research telephone industry trends within emergency management 

including voice phone systems and hearing impaired options 

Update the primary and secondary PSAP information in appendices of the 

County 9-1-1 plan 

Research the feasibility of consolidation recommendations for reducing the 

total number of PSAPs 

Derive recommendations for which, if any current PSAPs would be a 

logical choice for the failover of Cleveland’s Dispatch Center 

Conduct time motion studies for a select group of PSAPs that tracked call 

times and call types 

Provide final recommendations delivered via a presentation and final 

report 

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2.2 PSAPs Included in the Study 

The following is the list of PSAPs that were approached during the project. 

Note: Following a review of all PSAPs and in conjunction with AT&T, it was 

determined that there are two regional secondary PSAPs that exist within the 

County noted at the end of the table below. 

# PSAP Number Name of Community 

1 456 BAY VILLAGE POLICE 

2 457 BEACHWOOD POLICE 

3 460 BEDFORD HEIGHTS POLICE 

4 461 BEDFORD POLICE 

5 466 BEREA POLICE 

6 469 BRATENAHL POLICE 

7 470 BRECKSVILLE POLICE 

8 471 BROADVIEW HEIGHTS POLICE 

9 472 BROOKLYN FIRE and POLICE 

10 474 BROOK PARK POLICE 

11 477 CHAGRIN FALLS POLICE 

12 482 CLEVELAND HEIGHTS FIRE 

13 483 CLEVELAND HEIGHTS POLICE 

14 486 CLEVELAND POLICE DEPT 1 

15 494 CUYAHOGA CECOM 2 

16 497 CUYAHOGA HEIGHTS POLICE 

17 500 EAST CLEVELAND FIRE and POLICE 

18 504 EUCLID POLICE 

19 508 FAIRVIEW PARK FIRE and POLICE 

20 516 GARFIELD HEIGHTS POLICE 

21 524 HIGHLAND HEIGHTS POLICE 

22 530 INDEPENDENCE POLICE 

23 538 LAKEWOOD POLICE 

24 545 LYNDHURST POLICE 

25 550 MAPLE HEIGHTS POLICE 

26 554 MAYFIELD HEIGHTS POLICE 

27 555 MAYFIELD VILLAGE POLICE 

28 561 MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS POLICE 

29 567 NORTH OLMSTED POLICE 

30 568 NORTH ROYALTON POLICE 

31 571 NEWBURGH HEIGHTS POLICE 

1,2 Information taken from previous interview and study. Minimal interviews are expected. 

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# PSAP Number Name of Community 

32 573 NORTH RANDALL POLICE 

33 575 OAKWOOD POLICE 

34 577 OLMSTED FALLS POLICE 

35 578 OLMSTED TOWNSHIP POLICE 

36 582 PARMA HEIGHTS POLICE 

37 583 PARMA POLICE 

38 584 PEPPER PIKE POLICE 

39 594 RICHMOND HEIGHTS POLICE 

40 595 ROCKY RIVER POLICE 

41 596 SOUTH EUCLID POLICE 

42 601 SHAKER HEIGHTS POLICE 

43 602 SOLON POLICE 

44 609 STRONGSVILLE POLICE 

45 619 UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS POLICE 

46 625 WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS POLICE 

47 629 WESTLAKE POLICE 

2.3 Project Tasks & Deliverables 

EASTCOM (Secondary PSAP) Fire and EMS 

WESTCOM (Secondary PSAP) Fire and EMS 

The following list illustrates the project tasks and deliverables to be provided 

throughout this engagement. 

Task/Deliverable Status 

Kick-off meeting 

Survey preparation 

Survey distribution & answer questions for 47 PSAPs 

Survey review of 47 PSAPs 

Conduct 12 group agency interviews 

Consolidate interview documentation for 12 Sessions 

Research data gathering 

Research review & analysis 

Research documenting 

Organization reviews & documenting 

Statistics review & documenting 

Budget reviews & documenting 

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Two individual meetings with Westcom 

One individual meeting with Eastcom 

Three individual meetings with SouthWest Regional Dispatch 

Group 

Three individual meetings with SouthEast Regional Dispatch 

Group 

Three individual meetings with Chagrin Valley/Solon Regional 

Dispatch Group 

One individual meeting regarding Regional Firing Range 

Two individual meetings with Strongsville around Dispatcher 

Certification Program and Standard Operating Guidelines 

Recommendations Report preparation and review 

Preliminary ‘Recommendations Report’ review with Cuyahoga 

County 

Report follow-up edits or redirects 

Conduct time motion studies for select PSAPs 

Report Presentation & Delivery 

AT&T Meeting 

Public PSAP Review Meeting Jan. 20, 2012 

2.4 Project Assumptions 

The following assumptions were made in developing this proposal: 

Attevo’s interpretation of the requirements as communicated by Cuyahoga 

County is accurate. 

Attevo and Cuyahoga County mutually agree that not all 47 PSAPs may 

choose to participate in the assessment interviews, surveys, requests for 

information, etc. 

Participating PSAP’s may not share all organizational or budget 

information. 

Timing of the engagement is dependent upon PSAP personnel availability 

for meetings and answering questions including the initial survey. 

The project team will attempt up to three times to accommodate the 

schedule of the PSAP personnel for an interview and/or request for 

information. 

Physical and electronic access to appropriate data, networks and 

applications will be provided with minimal delay. 

Attevo personnel will have access to project work space and equipment as 

necessary and are not restricted to weekday, 8 hour per day work times. 

Should new effort be determined necessary or tasks be reassigned to 

Attevo personnel, the Change in Scope will be documented in a new 

 

 

 

 

 

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Addendum to the Services Agreement, including associated fees, for 

timely approval as described in this Statement of Work. 

Senior Attevo Project Management personnel will have direct access to 

project sponsors through Executive meetings for reporting project 

progress, issue resolution, scope change approval and other 

communications. In the event of critical issues the County will be notified 

on a timely basis for resolution. 

Additional resources can be added or extended as required with the 

agreement of the County and Attevo. 

2.5 Assessment Results Summary 

This PSAP Consolidation Feasibility Assessment is a culmination of six months of 

consulting work throughout the second half of 2011. The Recommendations 

section in this document provides more detail around PSAP consolidation and 

efforts towards regionalism for Cuyahoga County as it relates to Public Safety; 

however, listed below are the most salient points of the study. 

• The drive to consolidate is strong with many PSAPs throughout the 

County; however, in order to fully leverage all of the County’s resources 

additional City Executive and County Executive support is required. 

• The telephony equipment used specifically for the PSAPs is, in many 

cases, at end-of-life which results in a high risk scenario should the 

equipment need to be repaired or replaced. 

• The PSAP systems (CAD, radio, CPE, etc.) are of varying ages and levels 

of functionality; therefore, the data needed to analyze workloads and call 

volumes evaluation is often not available. 

• The duplication of PSAP systems and equipment (CAD, radios, etc.) is 

widespread throughout the County. This means that the collective costs 

for procuring, implementing and maintaining these systems is needlessly 

high. 

• There are varying degrees of disaster recovery plans for each PSAP; 

however, in a large scale incident or natural disaster the same equipment 

will not be available to all agencies that would expect or need to utilize it 

to continue to provide emergency communications. 

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3. Data Collection 

In an effort to obtain accurate information as well as encourage participation, 

multiple communications were sent to the various Police Chiefs, PSAP Managers 

and Mayors of the 47 communities that house the PSAPs. Each entity received a 

minimum of three pieces of correspondence in the form of hard-copy letters in 

addition to two mass mailed emails. Samples of the correspondence sent to 

PSAPs can be found in the appendices of this document. 

In addition, round-table sessions were held with over 73 percent of PSAPs 

throughout the County. Twelve individual round-table discussions were held at 

convenient days of the week and times of the day at multiple Cuyahoga County 

Library branches. 

Time Motion studies were also performed with a representative sample of PSAPs 

in the County. The Time Motion studies consisted of six separate sessions for a 

total of at least 18 hours of observation in three separate PSAPs across the 

region. Additionally, separate meetings, data collection and discussions were 

held with several technology vendors supporting Cuyahoga County’s current 9-1- 

1 infrastructure. 

Throughout the project an additional 40 hours’ worth of discussion and analysis 

was conducted around the various groups that have shown sincere interest in 

Regional PSAP Consolidation in the form of site visits, tours of Public Safety 

Central, Stark County Dispatch Operations, and Lake County Dispatch 

Operations. 

3.1 Data Limitations 

As with any study, the results are only as robust as the participation and 

feedback received. The very nature of requesting information from 47 different 

PSAPs has an inherent issue of responsiveness, and there are data limitations to 

this study. Fortunately, PSAP consolidation is a popular trend throughout the 

country; therefore, there are many proven results and measurable statistics that 

are well documented. In this study, the following data limitations were 

identified: 

The majority of PSAPs returned some information and many went above 

and beyond; however, it was clear early in the study that some PSAPs 

would offer little to no feedback. Numerous attempts were made to 

gather the data from the necessary PSAPs, and for those that offered little 

to no data, estimates were calculated based on similar PSAPs in the 

region. 

The scope of this assessment was limited to a current state analysis of 

PSAP size, CAD technology, operating budget, dispatch personnel and call 

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volumes. The study was not all encompassing in terms of technology 

(infrastructure, network assessment, etc.). In addition, assessing and 

documenting specific tasks and quantifying each PSAP (Police, Fire, EMS, 

and Administrative) was not included in this study, although a 

representative sample was used for the Time Motion portion of this 

assessment. 

Costs used with this report were self-reported by each PSAP and were not 

validated by a third party. 

Call volume information was for emergency calls only and did not account 

for Administrative calls received at each PSAP which, in many cases, 

exceeded the emergency call volume. This data limitation was verified 

with AT&T in that inbound calls on 10-digit Administrative lines are 

currently not counted due to technology limitations. 

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4. PSAP Survey & Results 

4.1 PSAP Survey 

Illustrated below is a sample of the four page questionnaire that was emailed to 

all 47 PSAPs across Cuyahoga County. The questions were developed in 

conjunction with several 9-1-1 technology and telephony experts, from various 

departments of AT&T. 

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4.2 Annual Dispatch Budget & Call Volume Results 

Illustrated below are the annual operating budgets, number of dispatchers, call 

takers, workstations, and Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) vendors by PSAP. 

The following communities chose not to respond to any of the survey: 

Beachwood, Broadview Heights, Cuyahoga Heights, East Cleveland, Highland 

Heights, Newburgh Heights, Oakwood and Warrensville Heights. Those cities are 

listed in red in the table below. A ‘BLANK’ represents a topic or survey question 

where no response was provided. 

City 

Annual 

Dispatch 

Budget 

Total 

Dispatchers 

Full Time 

and 

Part Time 

Call 

Takers 

Workstations 

CAD 

Vendor 

BAY VILLAGE BLANK BLANK 1 2 TAC 

BEACHWOOD BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK 

BEDFORD $ 318,750 11 2 TAC 

BEDFORD HTS $ 500,000 12 3 TAC 

BEREA $ 350,000 9 2 

BRATENAHL $ 187,000 10 4 

BRECKSVILLE $ 320,000 7 2 Sundance 

BROADVIEW HTS BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK 

BROOKLYN $ 367,400 5 2 Sundance 

BROOK PARK $ 547,880 9 3 Visionair 

CHAGRIN FLS $ 679,800 11 2 TAC 

CLEVE 

HTS/SHAKER/UNIVER 

SITY HTS FIRE 

$ 659,245 8 3 New World 

CLEVELAND $ 4,438,593 116 8 40 Intergraph 

CUYAHOGA HTS BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK 

E. CLEVELAND BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK 

EUCLID BLANK 16 1 3 TAC 

FAIRVIEW PK BLANK 1 1 TAC 

GARFIELD HTS $ 723,292 10 2 TAC 

GATES MILLS $ 269,050 7 2 TAC 

HIGHLAND HTS BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK 

INDEPENDENCE $ 750,000 9 3 Sundance 

LAKEWOOD $ 799,597 10 3 H.T.E 

LYNDHURST $ 525,746 1 2 Sundance 

MAPLE HTS $ 790,000 13 3 TAC 

MAYFIELD HTS $ 180,983 15 2 2 TAC 

MAYFIELD VILLAGE BLANK 5 2 TAC 

MIDDLEBURG HTS $ 387,004 6 2 TAC 

N OLMSTED BLANK 11 2 TAC 

N ROYALTON $ 757,450 11 2 TAC 

NEWBURGH HTS BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK 

NORTH RANDALL $ 59,000 19 

OAKWOOD BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK 

OLMSTED FLS $ 389,827 6 2 TAC 

OLMSTED TWNSHP $ 231,000 6 1 TAC 

PARMA $ 1,158,820 16 5 Intergraph 

PARMA HTS BLANK 8 2 TAC 

PEPPER PIKE $ 389,000 10 2 TAC 

RICHMOND HTS $ 375,000 6 2 TAC 

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City 

Annual 

Dispatch 

Budget 

Total 

Dispatchers 

Full Time 

and 

Part Time 

Call 

Takers 

Workstations 

CAD 

Vendor 

ROCKY RIVER BLANK 0 2 Sundance 

S EUCLID $ 483,146 7 2 Sundance 

SHAKER HTS $ 403,503 8 3 New World 

SOLON $ 1,007,525 10 4 3 Emergitech 

STRONGSVILLE $ 800,000 12 4 TAC 

UNIVERSITY HTS $ 219,912 3 2 TAC 

WALTON HILLS $ 319,000 11 2 TAC 

WARRENSVILLE HTS BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK 

WESTCOM $ 995,000 13 5 Positron 

WESTLAKE $ 360,000 10 3 3 TAC 

TOTAL $ 20,742,523 439 19 134 

Note: In Section 12.2 of this document there is information on NENA Standards 

for PSAP size Small, Medium and Large that had documented staffing guidelines 

and annual operating costs. 

4.3 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Vendors 

The following table documents the various CAD systems that are used across 

Cuyahoga County. The graph below illustrates the total number of dispatchers 

(full and part-time) that are utilizing each type of CAD system. 

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City CAD Vendor 

BAY VILLAGE TAC 

BEDFORD TAC 

BEDFORD HTS TAC 

BEREA 

BRATENAHL 

BRECKSVILLE Sundance 

BROOKLYN Sundance 

BROOK PARK Visionair 

CHAGRIN FLS TAC 

CLE HTS, SHAKER, UNIVERSITY HTS FIRE New World 

CLEVELAND Intergraph 

EUCLID TAC 

FAIRVIEW PK TAC 

GARFIELD HTS TAC 

GATES MILLS TAC 

HIGHLAND HTS 

INDEPENDENCE Sundance 

LAKEWOOD H.T.E. 

LYNDHURST Sundance 

MAPLE HTS TAC 

MAYFIELD HTS TAC 

MAYFIELD VILLAGE TAC 

MIDDLEBURG HTS TAC 

N OLMSTED TAC 

N ROYALTON TAC 

OLMSTED FLS TAC 

OLMSTED TWNSHP TAC 

PARMA Intergraph 

PARMA HTS TAC 

PEPPER PIKE TAC 

ROCKY RIVER Sundance 

S EUCLID Sundance 

SHAKER HTS New World 

SOLON Emergitech 

STRONGSVILLE TAC 

UNIVERSITY HTS TAC 

WALTON HILLS TAC 

WARRENSVILLE HTS 

WESTCOM Positron Frontline 

WESTLAKE TAC 

4.4 9-1-1 Technology Deployed and Age of Equipment 

The following table documents the various types of 9-1-1 technology that is 

currently deployed across Cuyahoga County. The average age of the equipment 

is 9.8 years old and many PSAPs have equipment on premise that is no longer 

manufactured. 

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City 

Age of Equipment 

Years 

Make and Model 

BAY VILLAGE 5 

BEDFORD 

BEDFORD HTS 

9 Positron 

BEREA 10 

BRATENAHL 10 Positron 

BRECKSVILLE 1 Positron Life Line 100 

BROOKLYN 7 Zetron integrator 

BROOK PARK 20 Positron 

CHAGRIN FLS 15 Positron 

CLEVE HTS + SHAKER & 

UNIVERSITY HTS FIRE 

5 Zetron PSAP 3200 

CLEVELAND 11 Nortel 

EUCLID 15 

FAIRVIEW PK 2 Positron Viper 

GARFIELD HTS 20 

GATES MILLS 

HIGHLAND HTS 

14 Positron 

INDEPENDENCE 10 

LAKEWOOD 15 

LYNDHURST Positron IDM 

MAPLE HTS 15 Positron Life Line 100 

MAYFIELD HTS 

MAYFIELD VILLAGE 

12 Life Line 100 

MIDDLEBURG HTS 8 

N OLMSTED 6 Positron Life Line 100 

N RANDALL 12 Zetron 

N ROYALTON 3 Positron Proline 100 

OLMSTED FLS 22 Positron 

OLMSTED TWNSHP 10 Positron 

PARMA 4 Power 9-1-1 

PARMA HTS 8 Plant 

PEPPER PIKE 6 Positron 

RICHMOND HTS 10 Positron 

ROCKY RIVER 11 Positron 

S EUCLID 11 Positron 

SHAKER HTS 11 Positron Life Line 100 

SOLON 2 to 14 Proctor ANI Controller 

System 

STRONGSVILLE 8 Positron Power 9-1-1 

UNIVERSITY HTS 17 Proctor ANI/ALI Alpha Micro 

Server 

WALTON HILLS 3 Power 9-1-1 

WARRENSVILLE HTS Positron 

WESTCOM 5 Life Line 

WESTLAKE 7 Life Line 100 

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4.5 Number of Call Dispatchers, Takers and Workstations 

The following table documents the number of Dispatchers and Call Takers by city 

within the County. Additionally, the table denotes the number of workstations 

by location. 

Note: The data presented in the table below was provided directly by each 

PSAP. The total number of dispatchers includes both full-time and part-time 

employees. 

City 

Total 

Dispatchers 

Full Time 

and 

Part Time 

Call 

Takers 

Number of 

Workstations 

BAY VILLAGE 1 2 

BEDFORD 11 2 

BEDFORD HTS 12 3 

BEREA 9 2 

BRATENAHL 10 4 

BRECKSVILLE 7 2 

BROOKLYN 5 2 

BROOK PARK 9 3 

CHAGRIN FLS 11 2 

CLEVE HTS + SHAKER & UNIVERSITY HTS 

FIRE 

8 3 

CLEVELAND 116 8 40 

EUCLID 16 1 3 

FAIRVIEW PK 1 1 

GARFIELD HTS 10 2 

GATES MILLS 7 2 

HIGHLAND HTS 

INDEPENDENCE 9 3 

LAKEWOOD 10 3 

LYNDHURST 1 2 

MAPLE HTS 13 3 

MAYFIELD HTS 15 2 2 

MAYFIELD VILLAGE 5 2 

MIDDLEBURG HTS 6 1 2 

N OLMSTED 11 2 

N RANDALL 19 

N ROYALTON 11 2 

OLMSTED FLS 6 2 

OLMSTED TWNSHP 6 1 1 

PARMA 16 5 

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City 

Total 

Dispatchers 

Full Time 

and 

Part Time 

Call 

Takers 

Number of 

Workstations 

PARMA HTS 8 2 

RICHMOND HTS 6 2 

PEPPER PIKE 10 2 

ROCKY RIVER 0 2 

S EUCLID 7 2 

SHAKER HTS 8 3 

SOLON 10 3 

STRONGSVILLE 12 4 

UNIVERSITY HTS 3 2 

WALTON HILLS 11 2 

WESTCOM 13 5 

WESTLAKE 10 3 3 

TOTAL 458 17 134 

4.6 Telephony Types 

The following table documents the various types of telephony that is currently 

deployed across the County. Within the document results, the majority of PSAPs 

are currently using AT&T supported equipment. 

City 

BAY VILLAGE 

Telephone System 

BEDFORD Nortel 

BEDFORD HTS Positron 

BEREA Nortel 

BRATENAHL AT&T 

BRECKSVILLE Analog 

BROOKLYN 

BROOK PARK 

CHAGRIN FLS 

AT&T 

CLEVE HTS + SHAKER & UNIVERSITY HTS 

FIRE 

Zetron 

CLEVELAND Northern Telecomm Meridian SL1 

EUCLID 

FAIRVIEW PK 

Positron 

GARFIELD HTS Teletronics 

GATES MILLS 

HIGHLAND HTS 

2 dedicated lines, other lines are Centrex 

INDEPENDENCE Toshiba 

LAKEWOOD 

LYNDHURST 

AT&T 

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City Telephone System 

MAPLE HTS Nortel Norstar 

MAYFIELD HTS Avaya 

MAYFIELD VILLAGE Cisco IP 

MIDDLEBURG HTS Cisco IP 

N OLMSTED 9-1-1 is separate from Toshiba Phone 

System 

N ROYALTON Nortel – Centrex 

OLMSTED FLS Nortel 

OLMSTED TWNSHP Ameritech 

PARMA AT&T 

PARMA HTS Plant Equipment 

PEPPER PIKE Cisco IP 

RICHMOND HTS 

ROCKY RIVER 

S EUCLID 

AT&T 

SHAKER HTS Positron Lifeline 100 

SOLON NEC 

STRONGSVILLE AT&T 

UNIVERSITY HTS 9-1-1 IS SEPARATE FROM ADMIN 

PHONES 

WALTON HILLS Power 9-1-1 

WESTCOM AT&T 

WESTLAKE AT&T 

4.7 Volume of Incoming Calls and Dispatched Calls by PSAP 

The following table documents the individually reported number of incoming 

calls and dispatched calls for Police, Fire and EMS for three years -- 2008, 2009 

and 2010. It is important to mention that most likely the total number of 

incoming calls per PSAP is much higher than the actual dispatch calls. 

Note: Many communities reported that call volumes were not easy to document, 

as their current CAD systems did not report such data. In an effort to analyze 

the accuracy of Call Count Volumes, data was gathered from AT&T and is 

included in the Appendix of this document. 

City Year 

BAY VILLAGE 2008 

2009 

2010 

BEDFORD 2008 

2009 

2010 

BEDFORD HTS 2008 

2009 

Incoming Calls Dispatched Calls 

Police Fire EMS Police Fire EMS 

24,772 

23,371 

22,261 

16,223 

2,456 

2,256 

2,683 

1,755 

18,065 

16,580 

14,128 

16,223 

502 

583 

917 

1,228 

1,954 

1,673 

1,766 

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City Year 

2010 

BEREA 2008 

2009 

2010 

BRATENAHL 2008 

2009 

2010 

BRECKSVILLE 2008 

2009 

2010 

BROOKLYN 2008 

2009 



15,161 1,696 15,161 1,192 

14,061 

28,663 

24,723 

10,000 

12,000 

15,000 

16,603 

14,302 

14,891 

11,568 

13,001 

1,812 

262 

227 

219 

1,399 

1,346 

1,351 

604 

601 

1,550 

1,555 

1,622 

1,554 

1,594 

14,061 

8,000 

10,000 

13,000 

11,568 

13,001 

1,269 

2010 18,935 606 1,474 18,935 606 

BROOK PARK 2008 25,295 2,340 

2009 21,940 2,524 

2010 21,149 2,608 

CHAGRIN FLS 2008 

2009 

2010 

CLEVE HTS + 

SHAKER & 

UNIVERSITY HTS 

FIRE 2008 

2009 

CLEVELAND 2008 

74,000 

74,496 

32,142 

29,802 

262 

227 

219 

604 

601 

2,222 

2,283 

2010 2,844 

2009 

2010 

EUCLID 2008 

2009 

2010 

FAIRVIEW PK 2008 

2009 

723,463 

688,368 

675,485 

61,000 

57,500 

59,000 

8,000 

88,770 

89,632 

92,230 

256,963 

238,539 

237,467 

62,811 

60,337 

64,143 

1,500 

1,555 

1,622 

1,554 

1,594 

1,474 

7,836 

84,272 

82,643 

81,515 

Page 22


City Year 

2010 

GARFIELD HTS 2008 

2009 

2010 

GATES MILLS 2008 

2009 

2010 

HIGHLAND HTS 2008 

2009 

2010 

INDEPENDENCE 2008 

2009 

2010 

LAKEWOOD 2008 

2009 

2010 

LYNDHURST 2008 

2009 

2010 

MAPLE HTS 2008 

2009 

2010 

MAYFIELD HTS 2008 

2009 

2010 

MAYFIELD 

VILLAGE 2008 

2009 

2010 

MIDDLEBURG 

HTS 2008 

2009 



8,000 

8,300 

65,000 

65,000 

65,000 

9,121 

7,809 

7,884 

57,431 

55,802 

46,508 

21,877 

21,885 

22,599 

10,000 

14,380 

14,038 

12,852 

7,300 

8,000 

8,200 

172 

124 

127 

1,564 

1,477 

3,182 

4,201 

4,055 

4,310 

2,150 

10,076 

9,581 

176 

143 

142 

4,926 

5,107 

5,155 

21,715 

21,128 

21,810 

9,121 

7,809 

7,884 

35,640 

31,428 

28,258 

9,428 

9,312 

9,036 

21,877 

21,885 

22,599 

9,464 

9,638 

3,693 

4,030 

4,137 

172 

124 

127 

2,116 

2,091 

1,997 

448 

527 

524 

4,201 

4,055 

4,310 

235 

207 

176 

143 

142 

1,452 

1,537 

1,541 

Page 23


City Year 

2010 

N OLMSTED 2008 

N RANDALL 

2009 

2010 

N ROYALTON 2008 

2009 

2010 

OLMSTED FLS 2008 

2009 

2010 

OLMSTED 

TWNSHP 2008 

2009 

2010 

PARMA 2008 

2009 

2010 

PARMA HTS 2008 

2009 

2010 

PEPPER PIKE 2008 

2009 

2010 

ROCKY RIVER 2008 



50,127 

45,250 

43,928 

1,900 

1,950 

2,000 

60,074 

59,070 

58,496 

15,139 

13,826 

13,798 

12,723 

2009 11,878 

2010 

S EUCLID 2008 

2009 

11,209 

829 

731 

758 

1,785 

1,732 

1,879 

9,205 

9,785 

9,564 

2,580 

2,437 

2,659 

20,768 

19,247 

20,972 

318 

1,350 

1,154 

41,100 

36,132 

33,725 

6,378 

6,248 

6,472 

1,520 

1,560 

1,600 

60,074 

59,070 

58,496 

11,000 

11,000 

8,500 

12,723 

11,578 

11,209 

16,389 

14,171 

810 

700 

703 

829 

731 

758 

218 

181 

198 

1,600 

1,299 

1,500 

9,205 

9,785 

9,564 

2,782 

2,963 

2,962 

385 

447 

356 

3,169 

3,209 

2,833 

2,871 

2,971 

2,580 

2,437 

2,659 

691 

619 

629 

479 

457 

483 

Page 24


City Year 

2010 

SHAKER HTS 2008 

2009 

2010 

SOLON 2008 

2009 

2010 

STRONGSVILLE 2008 

2009 

2010 

UNIVERSITY HTS 2008 

2009 

2010 

WALTON HILLS 2008 

2009 

2010 

WESTCOM 2008 

2009 

2010 

WESTLAKE 2008 

2009 

2010 



62,350 

57,704 

6,720 

7,250 

7,800 

73,616 

67,624 

69,376 

5,280 

5,250 

5,200 

30,000 

14,691 

31,380 

32,255 

31,099 

66,940 

53,212 

50,937 

17,585 

22,825 

6,960 

7,062 

7,150 

33,040 

34,626 

33,914 

3,063 

2,820 

2,696 

2,719 

4,142 

4,922 

4,397 

13,022 

Page 25


4.8 Annual Cost of Individual PSAPs 

The table below illustrates the total operating costs reported annually of 47 

PSAPS within the County. The average annual cost to operate a PSAP for 32 

cities that reported data or provided data on public websites is $509,498. 

Note: This amount does not include the annual costs of the Cleveland Dispatch 

Center. 

City 

BAY VILLAGE 

BEACHWOOD 

Yearly Dispatch 

Budget 

BEDFORD $ 318,750 

BEDFORD HTS $ 500,000 

BEREA $ 350,000 

BRATENAHL $ 187,000 

BRECKSVILLE 

BROADVIEW HTS 

$ 320,000 

BROOKLYN $ 367,400 

BROOK PARK $ 547,880 

CHAGRIN FLS $ 679,800 

CLEVE HTS + SHAKER & UNIVERSITY HTS FIRE $ 659,245 

CLEVELAND 

CUYAHOGA HTS 

$ 4,438,593 

Page 26


City 

E. CLEVELAND 

EUCLID 

FAIRVIEW PK 

Yearly Dispatch 

Budget 

GARFIELD HTS $ 723,292 

GATES MILLS 

HIGHLAND HTS 

$ 269,050 

INDEPENDENCE $ 750,000 

LAKEWOOD $ 799,597 

LYNDHURST $ 525,746 

MAPLE HTS $ 790,000 

MAYFIELD HTS 

MAYFIELD VILLAGE 

$ 180,983 

MIDDLEBURG HTS 

N OLMSTED 

$ 387,004 

N ROYALTON 

NEWBURGH HTS 

$ 757,450 

NORTH RANDALL 

OAKWOOD 

$ 59,000 

OLMSTED FLS $ 389,827 

OLMSTED TWNSHP $ 231,000 

PARMA 

PARMA HTS 

$ 1,158,820 

PEPPER PIKE $ 389,000 

RICHMOND HTS 

ROCKY RIVER 

$ 375,000 

S EUCLID $ 483,146 

SHAKER HTS $ 403,503 

SOLON $ 1,007,525 

STRONGSVILLE $ 800,000 

UNIVERSITY HTS $ 219,912 

WALTON HILLS 

WARRENSVILLE HTS 

$ 319,000 

WESTCOM $ 995,000 

WESTLAKE $ 360,000 

Total Cost $ 20,742,523 

Total Cost without Cleveland $ 16,303,930 

Average Annual Cost of PSAP without Cleveland $ 509,498 

Page 27


5. Roundtable Discussions 

Twelve separate roundtable discussions were held across the County during the 

course of this study, and most discussions took place at meeting rooms within 

the Cuyahoga County Library System. Listed in the table below are the 

participants for the roundtables discussions. 

5.1 Participants 

City Name Contact Name Title 

BEDFORD Greg Duber Police Chief 

BEDFORD HTS Kenneth Ledford Police Chief 

BEDFORD HTS Mike Marotta Police Chief 

BEREA Mark Schultz Police Chief 

BRECKSVILLE Peggy Kral Dispatcher 

BRECKSVILLE Kathy Haystack Network Admin 

BROADVIEW HTS Tim Scarbrough Police Lieutenant 

BROOK PARK James Foster Police Chief 

CHAGRIN FLS James Brosius Police Chief 

CHAGRIN FLS Lisa Mariola Admin Assistant 

CLEVELAND Thomas Stacho Police Commander 

CLEVELAND Mark Cebron Communications Manager 

CLEVELAND James Willson EMS Commander 

CLEVELAND Jack McCarthy Fire Captain 

CLEVE HTS Lisa Raffurty Communications Manager 

EUCLID Kelly A. Parton Supervisor 

EUCLID Jim Ripicky Police Chief 

FAIRVIEW PK Pat Nealon Police Chief 

GARFIELD HTS Bob Sackett Police Chief 

GATES MILLS Ronald Whitmer Police Executive Lieutenant 

INDEPENDENCE John Nicastro Police Chief 

INDEPENDENCE Joyce Contofalss Dispatcher 

LAKEWOOD Gary Stone Police Captain 

LAKEWOOD Jaime Kappa Police Dispatcher 

LYNDHURST Angela Ricci Dispatcher 

LYNDHURST Rick Porrello Police Chief 

MAPLE HTS John Drset Fire Chief 

MAPLE HTS Gene Kulp Police Captain 

MAYFIELD VILLAGE Kim Reilly Communications Supervisor 

N OLMSTED Mike Kilbare Police Captain 

N ROYALTON John Elek Police Lt. 

N ROYALTON Bruce Campbell Safety Director 

OLMSTED FLS Faye Tyler Dispatcher 

OLMSTED FLS Daniel Gilles Police Chief 

ORANGE Bruce White Fire Chief 

Page 28


City Name Contact Name Title 

PARMA Linda Wyman Communications Manager 

PARMA HTS Steven Greene Police Sergeant 

ROCKY RIVER Kelly Stillman Police Chief 

SHAKER HTS D. Scott Lee Police Chief 

SHAKER HTS Steve Hammett Police Deputy Chief 

SHAKER HTS William McConnell Information Technology 

SOLON Rick Tonelli Police Lieutenant 

SOLON Carol Haddon Records System Manager 

SOLON Chris Viland Police Chief 

SOLON William Shaw Fire Chief 

SOUTH EUCLID Laura Zehner Police Dispatcher 

STRONGSVILLE Laura Hays Communications Supervisor 

STRONGSVILLE Charles Goss Police Chief 

STRONGSVILLE Jim Kobak Police Deputy Chief 

WALTON HILLS Sharon Szczepanski Chief Dispatcher 

WALTON HILLS Kenn Thellmann Police Chief 

WESTCOM Nick Pishnery Communications Supervisor 

WESTLAKE Eric Schanz Police Captain 

5.2 Roundtable Discussion Points 

Feedback from each of the roundtables was informative and spirited. In spite of 

the diverse group of participants, there were common themes and ideas that 

crossed most of the sessions. 

Note: The comments identified below are not in any particular order of priority. 

Discussion Point Comments 

State of 9-1-1 Funds Requested audit 

Requested more transparency 

Regional Jail System Overwhelming majority of Police Chiefs support a 

Regional Jail System and identified it as a priority 

County Map • Major Concerns with County Map Updates 

Level of Service to Public • Maintaining Current Level of Service to Public 

Checking on elderly within community, checking on 

Properties when residents are on vacation, etc. 

Union Involvement Major Issues with Regional Consolidation and Unions 

Consolidation of Public 

Safety Services 

Public Perception of Consolidation is possibly viewed as 

negative with a perceived lack of service 

Risk of Multiple Duties Performed by Dispatchers i.e. 

Jailers, Records Clerks as well as Dispatchers 

New Informational Number implemented for County such 

as 611 or 411 to answer many non-emergency calls that 

are made to PSAPs…such as “What time are the fireworks 

starting?” 

Page 29


Discussion Point Comments 

Definition/Function of Call Dispatcher versus Call Taker 

• Issues with Part-Time versus Full-Time Personnel 

Dispatcher Certification Dispatcher Certification Program should be developed 

General Comments Overall process and procedures among PSAPs should be 

documented following common themes, continuity, etc. 

The “Prom Queen” analogy…what is in it for me if I help 

out a poorer community 

• What will the County provide for assistance? 

• Establishing the initial COG. Collaboration with 

Mayors, Council etc. 

• CAD Coordinator position? Level of support received 

Increased level of support for enterprise CAD 

• New Phone System Needed at Cleveland Dispatch 

Better support for the Intergraph CAD system 

Page 30


6. Time Motion Studies 

Six Time Motion sessions were held throughout October and November to 

complete a simplified study. The first goal of the study was to establish a 

baseline for employee productivity within the three dispatch centers chosen. A 

second goal of the study was to observe/detect what redundant or inefficient 

tasks might be happening within the Dispatch Center. 

Three communities agreed to the Time Motion Study. The population of the 

three cities ranges from 13,000 to 19,000. Additionally, the geographical area 

of each of the three cities ranges from 4 to 10 square miles. Lastly, the number 

of officers in each of the three cities ranges from 16 to 43 on each police force. 

Each PSAP was visited twice for at least two hours per session. The evaluator 

attempted to get a modified random sampling of the calls within the PSAP by 

observing the centers for both an early morning (rush hour) period and also a 

late afternoon, early evening session. 

Representative Cities City PSAP Statistics 

City A *Population: 19,212 

*Geographical area: 7.5 sq. mi 

*Number of Officers: 43 

City B *Population: 14,001 

*Geographical area: 4.4 sq. mi 


City C *Population: 13,513 

*Geographical area: 10 sq. mi 


Time Motion Studies General Observations 

Jail Duties can/do take up time for the Dispatcher when the Jailer is not present 

Public of Cuyahoga County needs continued education about when to call actual 9-1- 

1 phone line versus non-emergency phone line into the PSAP 

Technology in PSAPS is very outdated and not friendly in reducing amount of paper 

used within a Dispatch Center 

Actual 9-1-1 Emergency Calls were very low/limited during observation 

PSAPs received a lot of administrative phone calls from officers 

Dispatchers greet “walk-in” traffic to Police Department 24X7. Many residents that 

were considered “walk-in” traffic were filing a paper report that was not/did not need 

to be acted upon until Monday morning 

Dispatchers were managing/scheduling various City resources. For example, the 

“calling off” of School Crossing Guards 

Dispatchers that had a great deal of downtime could have been filing administrative 

reports for the Police Department 

Page 31


Page 32


7. Failover Site for Cleveland 

Throughout the course of this study, five cities and/or groups consistently 

emerged as logical options for a Disaster Recovery (DR) failover site for the City 

of Cleveland Department of Public Safety. Each of the five entities (Parma, 

SouthEast, SouthWest, Solon/Chagrin Valley and Westcom) has pros and cons 

associated with it which is illustrated in the table below. 

Entity Name Pros Cons 

Parma Technology - Same 

Intergraph CAD as City of 

Cleveland, and Intergraph 

RMS interface is in place 

Capacity – Currently have 

the staff (5 positions) to 

possibly absorb 25 % of 

disaster recovery calls 

from Cleveland. 

New Administration 

beginning January 1, 2012 

has communicated the 

need for regionalism. 

SouthEast Space for additional 

workstations and 

dispatchers 

Executive-level support. 

Council of Governments 

(COG) is in place and has 

the support of 

participating mayors. 

SouthWest Space for additional 


dispatchers 

Solon/Chagrin 

Valley 

Space for additional 


dispatchers 






Entity is open to working 

with County to build and 

facilitate a regional 

dispatch center. 

Facility space is limited 

New Administration 

beginning January 1, 2012 

may decide to proceed 

with regionalism in areas 

other than PSAP 

consolidation. 

City released RFP for new 

CAD system in December 

2011. If implemented this 

would negate the ‘Pro’ of 

the same Intergraph CAD 

technology as the City of 

Cleveland. 

Current CAD vendor (TAC) 

is not an enterprise-class 

system (I.e., limited 

application support, one 

point of failure for support, 

and unknown ability to 

support large call/incident 

volume) 

No formal Council of 

Governments (COG) 

agreement is in place. 

Executive-level (Mayoral) 

support is not in place at 

facility location (Middleburg 

Heights) 

Current CAD vendor (TAC) 

is not an enterprise-class 

system (I.e., limited 

application support, one 

point of failure for support, 

and unknown ability to 

support large call/incident 

volume) 

Funding for proposed 

regional dispatch center 

referenced in ‘Pros’ 

remains undefined. 

Page 33


Entity Name Pros Cons 

Westcom Space for two (2) 

additional workstations 

and dispatchers 






Current CAD vendor 

(Positron) is not an 

enterprise-class system. 

As of December 2011, 

entity is not able to absorb 

significant additional 

volume for a disaster 

recovery site. 

Currently, no one entity could absorb all of the disaster recovery (DR) 

requirements of the City of Cleveland. Several options, however, do exist for 

planned PSAPs consolidations. 

1. The planned, consolidated PSAPs (SouthEast, SouthWest, Solon/Chagrin 

Valley, Westcom) could invest in building several additional workstations 

into their facilities, dispersing the calls in a failover plan across several 

new regional PSAPs. 

For example, Regional PSAP X could take Cleveland Police District One’s 

calls in an emergency situation, while PSAP Y would take Cleveland Police 

District Two’s calls and so on. Load balancing is a viable solution to 

properly route calls and balance call volume. 

2. Solon/Chagrin Valley has discussed the possibility of building a new standalone 

PSAP facility. Additionally capacity could provide DR capabilities for 

the City of Cleveland. The standalone facility would require support and 

funding from the County. 

Note: These would both require additional funding from either the City of 

Cleveland or County. 

Page 34


8. CECOMS Call Counts 

The Cuyahoga Emergency Communications System (CECOMS) is a 24 hour, 7 

day a week, emergency communications system for Cuyahoga County. CECOMS 

currently transfers all cellular 9-1-1 calls to the various PSAPs across Cuyahoga 

County. The City of Cleveland’s PSAP currently represents about 60 percent of 

all cellular call volume across the County. Listed below is a table of call counts 

from CECOMs transferred to the various PSAPs. 

PSAP 2009 2010 2011 Estimated (3) 

BAY VILLAGE 593 634 602 

BEACHWOOD 2,659 2,849 2,885 

BEDFORD HTS 2,071 2,380 2,545 

BEDFORD 1,987 2,108 2,293 

BEREA 1,308 1,321 1,508 

BRATENAHL 456 424 392 

BRECKSVILLE 708 839 921 

BROADVIEW HTS 1,946 2,081 1,923 

BROOKLYN 1,886 1,868 2,142 

BROOK PARK 2,304 2,373 2,410 

3 

At the time this study was published validation on the accuracy of 2011 CECOMS data could not be obtained. The annual 

number of transfers from CECOMS could involve calls transferred to an incorrect city, I.e., a call is transferred to Brook 

Park when it should be a Cleveland call. 

Page 35


CHAGRIN FLS 1,154 1,246 1,217 

CLEVELAND 176,571 181,817 190,530 

CUYAHOGA HTS 1,044 1,091 1,109 

E. CLEVELAND F&P 7,368 8,390 8,315 

EUCLID 6,823 7,556 9,207 

FAIRVIEW PK 989 1,064 1,202 

GARFIELD HTS 4,829 5,142 5,396 

OH GATES MILLS 195 230 255 

HIGHLAND HTS 525 604 645 

INDEPENDENCE 1,968 1,831 2,003 

LAKEWOOD 6,425 6,666 6,964 

LYNDHURST 1,323 1,529 1,546 

MAPLE HTS 3,612 3,974 4,321 

MAYFIELD HTS 2,395 2,666 2,863 

MIDDLEBURG HTS 2,037 2,147 2,135 

N OLMSTED 3,070 3,355 3,416 

N ROYALTON 1,551 1,658 1,725 

NEWBURGH HTS 446 510 454 

NORTH RANDALL 530 682 635 

OAKWOOD POL 777 924 879 

OLMSTED FLS 504 518 572 

OLMSTED TWNSHP 259 284 382 

PARMA HTS 1,632 1,867 1,928 

PARMA 7,522 7,732 8,075 

PEPPER PIKE 595 566 783 

RICHMOND HTS 1,042 1,085 1,315 

ROCKY RIVER 1,654 1,508 1,681 

S EUCLID 2,383 2,582 2,809 

SHAKER HTS 2,741 2,775 2,750 

SOLON 1,833 2,008 1,925 

STRONGSVILLE 3,742 3,881 4,117 

UNIVERSITY HTS 970 1,046 1,111 

WALTON HILLS 134 140 192 

WARRENSVILLE HTS 3,634 4,150 4,211 

WESTLAKE 3,120 3,042 3,128 

TOTALS 279,422 292,313 297,417 

Page 36


9. Recommendations 

It was clear early on in this assessment that several of the 47 Public Safety 

Answer Points in Cuyahoga County were already well underway in their efforts to 

collaborate and promote regionalism. To recap, this assessment reviewed each 

of the 47 PSAPs’ dispatch technologies, telephony equipment, 9-1-1 equipment, 

operating budgets, resource requirements, land line 9-1-1 call volumes and 

wireless 9-1-1 call volumes. Those PSAPs that are currently exploring or, in 

some cases, already collaborating are collectively leveraging some combination 

of the components listed above to operate more efficiently. 

The increasing annual costs of individual PSAPs along with the increasing 

political support for collaboration highlights several areas of ‘low hanging fruit’ 

for consolidation and regionalism. It is important to note that all consolidation 

efforts will require both City Executive and County Executive support; however, 

the trend is encouraging. 

Continued consolidation and the promotion of regionalism is the ultimate goal in 

Cuyahoga County; however, it is important to note that it is not without some 

drawbacks. Before we address the list of likely candidates for consolidation in 

the short-term, listed below is a summary of the Pros and Cons of consolidation. 

Pros Cons 

Standardized dispatching protocols 

and training decreases the chance 

for error, thereby increasing the 

safety of responders and improving 

public service. 

Increased interoperability between 

PSAPS. 

Increased opportunities for 

disaster recovery and failover in 

the event of a natural disaster or 

event. 

Cost savings in the procurement, 

maintenance, installation and 

support of PSAP systems and 

equipment. 

Increased operational and service 

efficiencies. 

Increased opportunities for grants 

and state funding to support public 

safety operations and 

interoperability within the County. 

Concern for loss of the personal 

touch and knowledge of local city 

currently provided by local PSAPs. 

Concern for loss of control of PSAP 

staff by the current PSAP 

executives. 

Loss of administrative (24/7) staff 

currently tasked with nonemergency 

tasks such as 

scheduling, walk-in reports and/or 

complaints, and public requests for 

information. 

Initial costs (facilities, systems, 

training, etc.) can delay the 

realization of cost savings. 

Page 37


9.1 PSAP Consolidation 

There are several recommendations from a County perspective that have come 

out of the initial phase of this study. The primary observation that can be 

concluded from this study is that Cuyahoga County can and should 

reduce the number of PSAPs that currently exist. 

Further research is being conducted from other whitepapers/studies that have 

been completed about population size and the corresponding number of PSAPs 

that should exist. That being said, one of the most encouraging trends identified 

in this study was the fact that regionalism and consolidation is already underway 

amongst quite a few PSAPs in Cuyahoga County. 

Those PSAPs and PSAP collaboration entities are as follows: 

Solon/Chagrin Valley 

SouthEast 

SouthWest 

Shaker Heights/Euclid/Beachwood/South Euclid 

Cleveland, Westcom, Eastcom and CECOMS are entities worth noting due to 

their current collaborative approach and experience with emergency dispatch. 

Based on the results of this assessment they are not included in the list of shortterm 

candidates for PSAP consolidation; however, their experience with 

regionalism cannot be discounted for future collaboration efforts. 

9.1.1 Solon/Chagrin Valley 

The Solon/Chagrin Valley Area Regional Dispatch Center for Police, Fire and EMS 

would be a new entity physically located within the Solon Police Department. 

They have space to remodel the basement and could maintain six workstations 

with some minor remodeling. A second option, and perhaps a partial failover 

site to Cleveland, would be a new dispatch center on four acres of land that sits 

behind Solon Police Department (PD) today. 

Facility: Combined entity has several options for a Regional Dispatch 

facility: 

1. Expand and remodel current Solon PSAP 

2. Build new Regional Dispatch Center on currently vacant 

Solon PD Property 

Resources: Both entities currently have very experienced and qualified 

Dispatchers. Many are current role models for Dispatch 

processes and procedures across the County. 

Technology: Combined entity currently has TAC and Emergitech CAD 

systems independently. Neither is an enterprise-class CAD 

application and has limitations surrounding scalability, 

Page 38


Executive 

Level 

Support: 

9.1.2 SouthEast 

functionality and support. 

Combined entity has well-establish support for continued PSAP 

consolidation. Both the Mayors and Public Safety officials are in 

support of regionalism. 

The SouthEast Regional Dispatch for Police, Fire and EMS would be physically 

located in a University Hospital facility in Bedford Heights. Discussions are 

underway and a formal Council of Government (COG) has been established with 

the following communities: Bedford, Bedford Heights, Garfield Heights, Glen 

Willow, Maple Heights, Oakwood Village and Walton Hills. 

Facility: Combined entity has adequate space to build a new PSAP 

Center in University Hospital in Bedford. 

Resources: Combined entity currently has varying levels of skill sets within 

the various PSAPs. COG is open to working through all staffing 

requirements needed to optimize the PSAP. 

Technology: Combined entity currently has TAC CAD systems. It is not an 

enterprise-class CAD application and has limitations surround 

scalability, functionality and support. 

Executive 

Level 

Support: 

9.1.3 SouthWest 


consolidation. Both Mayors and Public Safety officials are in 


The SouthWest Regional Fire/EMS Dispatch Center would be physically located at 

Southwest Hospital on Bagley Road in Berea. Discussions are underway to 

possibly include 8 communities in this initiative. The following communities have 

been approached: Berea, Brook Park, Middleburg Heights, Olmsted Falls, 

Olmsted Township, North Royalton and Parma Heights. 

Facility: Combined entity has adequate space to build a new PSAP 

Center in SouthWest Hospital in Middleburg Heights. 

Resources: Combined entity currently has varying levels of skill sets within 

the various PSAPs. COG is open to working through all staffing 

requirements needed to optimize the PSAP. 



scalability, functionality and support. 

Executive 

Level 

Combined entity would have strong support from Fire Chiefs, 

Hospital Administration officials and hopefully Police Chiefs; 

Page 39


Support: however, Mayoral support has not been confirmed. 

9.1.4 Shaker Heights/Euclid/Beachwood/South Euclid 

The Shake Heights/Euclid/Beachwood/South Euclid entity has taken a unique 

approach to consolidation. They are in discussion to share a domain controller 

and hardware to support their collective PSAPs. The vision in time will be to 

consolidate facilities and staff. 

Facility: Not relevant at this point, as combined group would not be 

working together in one physical PSAP. 

Resources: Not relevant at this point, as combined group would not be 

combining staff or PSAP personnel for Phase One of this 

collaborative effort. 



scalability, functionality and support. The benefit of using backoffice 

infrastructure and a shared domain controller is the true 

benefit to this recommendation. 

Executive 

Level 

Support: 

9.1.5 Cleveland 


consolidation. Both Mayors and Public Safety officials are in 


Beginning in 2009 the City of Cleveland developed a Shared Services strategy 

with pilot agencies in the region designed to share the City’s Intergraph 

Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system with surrounding suburbs. The strategy 

included the technical architecture, organizational assessment, software and 

resource assessment, and support model. In 2010, Parma was the first 

participating city to join this initiative with the City Cleveland. As such Parma 

was able to implement an otherwise too costly enterprise CAD system, as well as 

recognize the significant cost savings with the implementation, licensing and 

support costs. 

While Cleveland and Parma continue to work through some support and 

performance issues, we would be remiss to not mention the significant push 

toward regionalism and collaboration that both of these cities continue to 

champion. 

9.1.6 Eastcom and Westcom 

Eastcom and Westcom are currently dispatching Fire and EMS calls for multiple 

communities. Westcom currently also dispatches for a community in Lorain 

Page 40


County. At the time of publication of the study (mid-December 2011) no plans 

could be verified for physical infrastructure expansion of Eastcom or Westcom. 

More research is needed around the expansion of Westcom and Eastcom to 

include additional communities for dispatching. 

9.2 CECOMS 9-1-1 Wireless Calls 

It is recommended that further analysis of CECOMS occur on an annual basis. 

While some communities have expressed interest in taking their own 9-1-1 

Cellular Calls from CECOMS, it is not the recommendation that this point that 

any city other than the City of Cleveland begin to take their own cellular calls. 

The reason is the current wireless infrastructure that exists within Cuyahoga 

County. All wireless towers have three faces, and each tower face is assigned a 

pANI (pseudo-ANI) which is a generic term used to identify the phone number of 

the tower that is used to link the caller, the cell tower information, and the ALI 

(Location Information) records. Each tower face is also assigned an ESN 

(Electronic Service Number) by AT&T which routes the call to its assigned PSAP 

(Public Safety Answering Point). 

In densely populated areas with multiple PSAP’s such as Cuyahoga County, the 

general practice has been for a Central PSAP (e.g., CECOMS) to take all the 

wireless calls and transfer them to the appropriate PSAP. This practice reduces 

the potential of misrouted calls. 

Important Note: The risks associated with smaller cities receiving “bounced 

calls” that truly belong to a neighboring PSAP would greatly increase the chance 

of a 9-1-1 call being routed improperly. 

The conditions for a misrouted wireless call may be the follows: 

One tower or Face can be within the jurisdictional bounties of multiple 

PSAP’s. 

The wireless call may be routed to another tower assigned to another 

PSAP due to heavy traffic on the wireless tower. 

Wireless calls may skip to another tower due to weather. 

Note: Over time with newer technology the above mentioned issues could 

dissipate. 

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The diagram above represents a typical Phase II Wireless 911 call process flow, 

and listed below are the six key steps. 

1. A 9-1-1 cell phone call is transmitted to the closest cellular tower. 

2. The Tower equipment identifies this as an emergency call and transmits 

the voice signal, wireless phone’s callback number, and tower’s ID code to 

the Mobile Switching Center (MSC). 

3. The MSC assigns a unique 10-digit routing number called an Emergency 

Services Routing Digit (ESRD) to the call. The ESRD is a 10-digit routable 

number that is used for routing on a per origination cell sector basis. 

Cellular services use three antennas on each tower, and each antenna 

face is assigned a unique ESRD. Also assigned is an Emergency Services 

Routing Key (ESRK). The ESRK is also 10-digit routable number that is 

used for routing. 

4. The cellular carrier’s position-determining system uses GPS satellites to 

find the caller’s location. 

4 http://fletch911.wordpress.com/article/cellular-e911-location-discovery-1558rwj796sda-10/ 

4 

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5. The MSC sends the call to the Local Exchange carrier who receives both 

the voice signal and the 10-digit ESRD and ESRK routing numbers. The 

call is now in the traditional E911 Tandem system used for wired calls, 

and the call is processed by a Selective router or 911 Tandem. 

The routing number is used to decide automatically which emergency call 

center is appropriate and passes the call on specialized E911 trunks, 

where the PSAP receives a 20-digit Automatic Number Identification (ANI) 

consisting of the ESRD and the ESRK. 

6. The emergency call center operator receives the 9-1-1 voice call and a 

computer receives the unique 10-digit ESRK routing number. Using the 

ESRK routing number, the computer then connects to the location 

information database and retrieves the data that has been populated 

including the caller’s wireless number, the tower’s address, and the 

caller’s exact latitude/longitude coordinate location. At the same time, a 

computer mapping application (if available) can then use the 

latitude/longitude data and display this information on a map on the call 

taker’s PC. 

9.3 Infrastructure 

Cuyahoga County can and should update its aged 9-1-1 infrastructure to include 

a distributed network with SONET ring technology. This new architecture and 

investment would assume four to five host sites for Regional Dispatching. There 

are huge benefits to investing in such a platform, not limited to the importance 

of load-balancing of the calls and the ability to failover call dispatching in the 

event of a disaster. 

The new 9-1-1 technology supports many groups sharing a single controller. On 

Windows Server Systems, a 9-1-1 controller is a server that responds to security 

authentication requests (logging in, checking permissions, etc.) within the 

Windows Server domain. A domain is where a user may be granted access to a 

number of computer resources with the use of a single username and password 

combination. 

9.4 Technology Roadmap 

Cuyahoga County should create a prioritization plan to upgrade/update those 

PSAPs that will not be consolidating quickly (e.g., within the next two years to 

be 9-1-1 Phase Two Technological compliant). All 9-1-1 Controllers with the 

exception of Fairview Park are considered “end of life” and should be replaced to 

avoid any immediate issues in delayed response time related to dispatching. 

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9.5 Governance Model 

Our research concluded that, almost without exception, every PSAP consolidation 

also included an advisory board. There are many different governance models, 

and selecting a governance structure that suits the geographical and political 

area is a critical component to a successful consolidation. Several Governance 

Model examples are listed below. 

1. Separate Department within an existing department’s governmental 

structure. This model has a civilian director that reports within the 

department’s organizational structure with other department heads. 

2. A Department that is part of a participating/existing agency. Sworn 

personnel manage the PSAP and fall under the management of that 

department. 

3. Independent Authority. A civilian director typically manages these 

agencies and reports to a board of representatives from participating 

members. 

4. Contractual. Governmental units can enter into contractual agreements 

with one another in order to provide PSAP and/or dispatch service. 

9.5.1 Advisory Committee 

It is also recommended that an Advisory Committee be created before, during 

and after any consolidation with a representative from each participating PSAP. 

The Advisory Committee’s primary purpose is to review and approve the 

structure for the following key PSAP components: 

PSAP personnel 

Training for PSAP personnel 

PSAP infrastructure 

PSAP administration 

PSAP governance 

Additionally, it is recommended that Cuyahoga County hold bi-annual meetings 

of all PSAPs that exist within the County. These meetings would foster trust, 

enhance communication and provide a forum for training and education. 

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10. Risks 

During the course of this study, several important risks to the Public Safety 

Sector of Cuyahoga County are noted below. An additional recommendation of 

the study would be to develop a risk mitigation plan for the documented 

concerns. 

There is an inherent risk of individual PSAPs taking their own 9-1-1 

cellular calls. 

There is an inherent risk of TAC as a current CAD Vendor for so many 

PSAPs. TAC is not an enterprise class CAD application and is currently not 

maintaining a robust patching and configuration management program for 

all CAD clients. 

There would be an impact of FTE reductions with Police if Dispatch 

positions are taken away. 

City of Cleveland currently has no back-up site for their Dispatch 

Operations. 

There is a lack of political and organizational leadership to support the 

consolidation projects in many cities. 

There is a lack of consistency with project management and project 

support while implementing, building new regional PSAPs. For example, 

vision for technologies, standard operating procedures, infrastructure, 

training for dispatchers, etc. should be similar for all 

Regional/Consolidated Dispatch Centers. 

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11. Appendix 

11.1 PSAP Definition & Overview 

A PSAP is defined as a Public Safety Answering Point. A PSAP is a call center 

responsible for answering calls to an emergency telephone number for police, 

firefighting and ambulance services. By law only one PSAP may exist per 

municipality. Additionally, each 10-digit phone number may only be linked to 

one PSAP. 

A PSAP is also a facility operated on a 24-hour basis assigned the responsibility 

of receiving 9-1-1 calls. It directly dispatches emergency services or passes 9-1- 

1 calls on to public or private safety agencies. Trained operators are responsible 

for dispatching the emergency services. 

Most PSAPs are now capable of caller location for landline calls, and many can 

handle mobile phone locations as well (sometimes referred to as phase II 

location), where the mobile phone company has a handset location system. 

Some can also use voice broadcasting, where outgoing voice mail can be sent to 

many phone numbers at once, in order to alert people to a local emergency such 

as a chemical spill, also known as reverse 9-1-1 technology. 

In the United States, the county or a large city usually handles this 

responsibility. As a division of a U.S. state, counties are generally bound to 

provide this and other emergency services even within the municipalities, unless 

the municipality chooses to opt out and have its own system, sometimes along 

with a neighboring jurisdiction. If a city operates its own PSAP but not its own 

particular emergency service (for example, City Police but County Fire), it may 

be necessary to relay the call to the PSAP that does handle that type of call. The 

U.S. requires caller location capability on the part of all phone companies, 

including mobile ones, but there is no federal law requiring PSAPs to be able to 

receive such information. 

11.1.1 Cuyahoga County PSAP Overview 

Today, there are 47 PSAPs that exist across Cuyahoga County. Typical counties 

in the U.S. have less than five total PSAPs. 

11.2 9-1-1 Overview 

Within the United States and Canada, dialing "9-1-1" from any telephone will 

link the caller to an emergency dispatch center—called a PSAP, or Public Safety 

Answering Point, by the telecom industry—which can send emergency 

responders to the caller's location in an emergency. In most areas, enhanced 9- 

1-1 is available, which automatically gives dispatch the caller's location, if 

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available. Enhanced 9-1-1 or E9-1-1 service is a North American 

telecommunications-based system that automatically associates a physical 

address with the calling party's telephone number, and routes the call to the 

most appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for that address. 

The final destination of an E9-1-1 call—the location where the 9-1-1 operator is 

working—is called a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). There may be 

multiple PSAPs within the same exchange, or one PSAP may cover multiple 

exchanges. The territories covered by a single PSAP are based more on historical 

and legal police considerations than on telecommunications issues. Most PSAPs 

have a regional Emergency Service Number, a number identifying the PSAP. 

The Caller Location Information (CLI) provided is normally integrated into an 

emergency dispatch center's computer-assisted dispatch (CAD) system, to 

provide the dispatcher with an onscreen street map that highlights the caller's 

position and the nearest available emergency responders. For Wireline (land 

line) E9-1-1, the location is an address. For Wireless E9-1-1, the location may be 

a set of coordinates or the physical address of the cellular tower from which the 

wireless call originated. Not all PSAPs have the Wireless and Wireline systems 

integrated. As other aspects of the technology of managing emergency response 

evolve, the PSAPs will need to evolve with them. 

5 http://www.911.lubbock.tx.us/images/callflow.gif 

5 

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Wireline enhanced 9-1-1 

In all North American jurisdictions, special privacy legislation permits emergency 

operators to obtain a 9-1-1 caller's telephone number and location information. 

This information is gathered by mapping the calling phone number to an address 

in a database. This database function is known as Automatic Location 

Identification (ALI). The database is generally maintained by the local telephone 

company, under a contract with the PSAP. Each telephone company has its own 

standards for the formatting of the database. Most ALI databases have a 

companion database known as the MSAG, Master Street Address Guide. The 

MSAG describes address elements including the exact spellings of street names, 

and street number ranges. 

Each telephone company has at least two redundant telephone trunk lines 

connecting each host office telephone switch to each PSAP. These trunks are 

either directly connected to the PSAPs, or are connected to a telephone company 

central switch that intelligently distributes calls to the PSAPs. These special 

switches are often known as 9-1-1 Selective Routers. The use of 9-1-1 Selective 

Routers is becoming increasingly more common, as it simplifies the 

interconnection between newer office switches and the many older PSAP 

systems. 

The effectiveness of this technology may sometimes be affected by the type of 

telephone infrastructure that the call is routed through. The PSAP may receive 

calls from the telephone company on older analog trunks, which are similar to 

regular telephone lines but are formatted to pass the calling party number. The 

PSAP may also receive calls on older-style digital trunks, which must be specially 

formatted to pass Automatic Number Identification (ANI) information only. Some 

upgraded PSAPs can receive calls in which the calling party number is already 

present. The location of the call is drawn from a computer routine which 

supports telephone company service billing, called the Charge Number 

Parameter. 

With some technologies, the PSAP trunking does not pass address information 

along with the call. Instead, only the calling party number is passed, and the 

PSAP must use the calling party number to look up the address in the ALI 

database. The ALI database is secured and separate from the public phone 

network, by design. Sometimes, on calls using land lines, the originating 

telephone number may not be passed to the PSAP at all, generally because the 

number is not in the ALI database. When this happens, the call receiver must 

confirm the location of the incoming call, and may have to redirect the call to 

another, more appropriate PSAP. ALI Failure occurs when the phone number is 

not passed or the phone number passed is not in the ALI database. In most 

jurisdictions, when ALI database lookup failure occurs, the telephone company 

has a legal mandate to fix the database entry. 

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11.3 Cost per Call Analysis by Individual PSAP 

This table represents data supplied by AT&T from monthly switch 

technology that counts call volumes. The data within the spreadsheet is 

intended to be a best possible scenario for using technology to calculate a 

cost per 9-1-1 call within each PSAP. The total call volumes do not 

represent calls incoming on the 10 digit non-emergency phone lines. Those 

calls are not able to be counted by AT&T. Cleveland is the only City that can 

capture 1-2-3-4 administrative calls; therefore, the results are skewed. 

Cleveland has technology available within their telephony to count those 

administrative calls. 

Cuyahoga County Total Transfers from CECOMS and Total 911 Land Line Calls: 2009 ‐ 2011 

*Budgetary Cells Highlighted in blue are figures obtained from public websites and have not been verified by individual PSAPs. **Average Cost 

per 911 Call does not include data from AT&T around call volumes from 10 digit non emergency phone lines. 

PSAP # PSAP NAME 

2009 Year Estimate 

Total Transfers Total 911 Land 

from CECOMS Line Calls 

2010 Year Actual 


from CECOMS Line Calls 

2011 Year Estimate 


from CECOMS*** Line Calls 

Annual Operating Average Cost 

Budget per 911 Call 

456 BAY VILLAGE POL 593 1342 634 1161 602 776 $ 143,500.00 $ 79.94 

457 BEACHWOOD POL 2659 8289 2849 6989 2885 6474 $ 621,112.00 $ 63.13 

460 BEDFORD HTS POL 2071 3485 2380 3058 2545 2302 $ 500,000.00 $ 91.95 

461 BEDFORD POL 1987 2954 2108 2623 2293 2250 $ 318,750.00 $ 67.37 

466 BEREA POL 1308 2030 1321 2042 1508 1838 $ 350,000.00 $ 104.07 

469 BRATENAHL POL 456 267 424 195 392 160 $ 187,000.00 $ 302.10 

470 BRECKSVILLE POL 708 1404 839 1361 921 1270 $ 320,000.00 $ 145.45 

471 BROADVIEW HTS POL 1946 2770 2081 2445 1923 2028 $ 367,652.00 $ 81.23 

472 BROOKLYN F&P 1886 1937 1868 1676 2142 1180 $ 367,400.00 $ 103.67 

474 BROOKPARK POL 2304 3629 2373 3098 2410 2722 $ 660,097.00 $ 120.65 

477 CHAGRIN FLS POL 1154 2354 1246 2155 1217 1920 $ 679,800.00 $ 199.88 

486 CLEVELAND POLICE DEPT 176571 236633 181817 184708 190530 143010 $ 4,438,593.00 $ 12.11 

497 CUYAHOGA HTS POL 1044 1521 1091 1397 1109 1158 $ 700,000.00 $ 281.35 

500 E. CLEVELAND F&P 7368 12190 8390 12763 8315 11878 N/A N/A 

504 EUCLID POL 6823 9783 7556 8886 9207 7610 N/A N/A 

508 FAIRVIEW PK F&P 989 1594 1064 1408 1202 1260 $ 151,238.00 $ 61.18 

516 GARFIELD HTS POL 4829 6317 5142 5646 5396 4602 $ 723,292.00 $ 67.05 

517 GATES MILLS PD 195 427 230 335 255 346 $ 269,050.00 $ 476.19 

524 HIGHLAND HTS POL 525 1827 604 1530 645 1410 $ 388,685.00 $ 182.14 

530 INDEPENDENCE POL 1968 2069 1831 2065 2003 2030 $ 750,000.00 $ 192.51 

538 LAKEWOOD POL 6425 7411 6666 5959 6964 4782 $ 799,597.00 $ 63.33 

545 LYNDHURST POL 1323 2064 1529 1869 1546 1692 $ 525,747.00 $ 154.72 

550 MAPLE HTS POL 3612 5157 3974 4637 4321 3644 $ 790,000.00 $ 91.74 

554 MAYFIELD HTS POL 2395 3828 2666 3948 2863 3776 $ 180,983.00 $ 27.36 

561 MIDDLEBURG HTS P 2037 2638 2147 2750 2135 2546 $ 326,335.00 $ 66.64 

567 N OLMSTED POL 3070 3891 3355 3289 3416 3052 $ 544,335.00 $ 81.93 

568 N ROYALTON POL 1551 2547 1658 2201 1725 2200 $ 757,450.00 $ 196.28 

571 NEWBURGH HTS POLICE 446 408 510 387 454 260 $ 190,000.00 $ 211.82 

573 NORTH RANDALL PD 530 1090 682 1163 635 928 N/A N/A 

575 OAKWOOD POL ‐ CUYA 777 819 924 855 879 804 $ 259,657.00 $ 145.96 

577 OLMSTED FLS POL 504 1147 518 873 572 556 $ 389,827.00 $ 280.25 

578 OLMSTED TWNSHP P 259 2201 284 1781 382 1536 $ 175,000.00 $ 84.75 

582 PARMA HTS POL 1632 2877 1867 2590 1928 1994 $ 451,000.00 $ 101.19 

583 PARMA POL 7522 10461 7732 9201 8075 7556 $ 1,158,820.00 $ 68.44 

584 PEPPER PIKE POL 595 1077 566 1159 783 710 $ 414,000.00 $ 240.00 

594 RICHMOND HTS POL 1042 2023 1085 1661 1315 1488 $ 357,003.00 $ 130.01 

595 ROCKY RIVER POL 1654 2325 1508 2129 1681 1878 N/A N/A 

596 S EUCLID POL 2383 3701 2582 3173 2809 2452 $ 483,146.00 $ 83.95 

601 SHAKER HTS POL 2741 7740 2775 6213 2750 5136 $ 403,503.00 $ 44.89 

602 SOLON POL 1833 3341 2008 3129 1925 2624 $ 1,007,525.00 $ 196.13 

609 STRONGSVILLE POL 3742 5407 3881 4901 4117 4230 $ 800,000.00 $ 91.10 

619 UNIVERSITY HTS POL 970 2037 1046 1888 1111 1568 $ 219,912.00 $ 74.95 

624 WALTON HILLS POL 134 559 140 485 192 414 $ 319,000.00 $ 510.40 

625 WARRENSVILLE HTS P 3634 4359 4150 3761 4211 3298 N/A N/A 

629 WESTLAKE POL 3120 4954 3042 4553 3128 4404 $ 360,000.00 $ 47.40 

*** At the time this study was published validation on the accuracy of 2011 CECOMS data could not be obtained. The numbers presented for 2011 are the same as 2011. 

YEAR TOTALS 2009 Year Estimate 2010 Year Actual 2011 Year Estimate 

Total Transfers Total 911 Land Total Transfers Total 911 Land Total Transfers Total 911 Land 

from CECOMS Line Calls from CECOMS Line Calls from CECOMS Line Calls 

271315 386885 283143 320096 297417 259752 

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12. Appendix 

12.1 Correspondence to PSAPs 

Initial Letter to Cuyahoga County Mayors 

Page 50


Letter Requesting Survey Participation 

Page 51


Letters to Mayors Regarding Participation 

Page 52


Presentation Sent to Mayors Confirming Final Content 

Page 53


12.2 Operational Budget Guidelines 

Listed below are staffing guidelines provided in a report by 9-1-1 SME 

Consulting 6 commissioned by the NENA SWAT Operations Team. It is important 

to note that the guidelines are estimates calculated in 2003 and were not 

calculated specifically for Cuyahoga County. Additionally, the SWAT Team sizes 

presented in this study do not include larger PSAPs such as those the size of the 

City of Cleveland. 

The PSAP sizes are categorized as Small, Medium and Large and are defined as 

follows: 

Small PSAP: The PSAP manager is often working as a telecommunicator, 

and there is typically only one call taker/dispatcher on duty most of the 

time. 

Population: 0 to 19,000 

Medium PSAP: The PSAP manager is dedicated and also completes most 

of the support work. PSAP typically only has one call taker/dispatcher on 

duty during slow call volume times; however, a second call 

taker/dispatcher is added during busy periods. 

Population: 19,001 to 100,000 

Large PSAP: The PSAP manager is dedicated and the PSAP has one or 

two full-time support personnel such as an administrative 

assistant/assistant manager, database manager and/or training 

supervisor. PSAP normally has two to three call-takers/dispatchers on 

duty. May have one call taker and two dedicated dispatchers (one for 

Police; the other for Fire/EMS). 

Population: 100,001 to 140,000 

Many factors can influence the Operational budgets of a PSAP including, but not 

limited to, the following: wage rates in the local area, paid time off, full-time or 

part-time employees, benefits packages, and support contracts. As such, the 

Operational Budget guidelines below can only show the statistics of PSAPs 

similar to the PSAP being designed. 

Estimated Costs 

PSAP Size Lowest Average Highest 

Small $ 143,370 $ 251,500 $ 415,966 

Medium $ 49,050 $ 562,302 $ 2,300,646 

Large $ 625,293 $ 1,395,988 $ 2,687,900 

6 PSAP STAFFING GUIDELINES REPORT AS COMMISSIONED BY NENA SWAT OPERATIONS TEAM - 

August, 2003 © L. Robert Kimball & Associates, Inc. or 9-1-1 SME Consulting 

Page 54


13. Glossary of Terms 

Term Definition 

9-1-1 A three digit telephone number to facilitate the reporting of an 

emergency requiring response by a public safety agency. 

9-1-1 Service Area The geographic area that has been granted authority by a 

state or local governmental body to provide 9-1-1 service. 

9-1-1 Service Provider An entity providing one or more of the following 9-1-1 

elements: network, CPE, or database service. 

9-1-1 Tandem (See E9-1-1 Control Office) 

Access Line The connection between a customer premises network 

interface and the Local Exchange Carrier that provides access 

to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). 

ACD Automated Call Distribution 

ANI/ALI Automatic Number Identification/Automatic Location 

Identification 

APCO Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials 

Automatic Location 

Identification (ALI) 

Automatic Location 

Identification (ALI) 

Database 

Automatic Number 

Identification (ANI) 

The automatic display at the PSAP of the caller’s telephone 

number, the address/location of the telephone and 

supplementary emergency services information. 

The set of ALI records residing on a computer system. 

Telephone number associated with the access line from which 

a call originates. 

AVL Automatic Vehicle Location 

BOC Bureau of Communications 

C2C CAD-to-CAD 

CAD Computer Aided Dispatch 

CCC Cleveland Communications Center 

CECOMS Cuyahoga Emergency Communications System 

Central Office (CO) The Local Exchange Carrier facility where access lines are 

connected to switching equipment for connection to the Public 

Switched Telephone Network. 

Centralized Automated 

Message Accounting 

(CAMA) 

A multi-functional signaling protocol originally designed for 

billing purposes, capable of transmitting a single telephone 

number. 

CPD Cleveland Police Department 

CPE Customer Premises Equipment device, is any component a 

consumer attaches at the receiving end of a telephone 

network to route, terminate or originate communication that 

is not supplied by the carrier. Examples include telephones, 

modems and other networking devices. 

CRM Customer Relationship Management 

CS1 Responsible for call taking and are not trained to dispatch 

CS2 Cross trained to dispatch for EMS, Fire, and Police – can also 

fill the role of a call taker 

Data Base Management Entity providing Selective Routing (SR) and/or Automatic 

System Provider 

Location Identification (ALI) data services. 

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Default Routing The capability to route a 9-1-1 call to a designated (default) 

PSAP when the incoming 9-1-1 call cannot be selectively 

routed due to an ANI failure or other cause. 

DLS Dispatch Life Support 

ELIN Emergency Location Identification Number 

EMD Emergency Medical Dispatcher 

EMDQ Emergency Medical Quality Assurance 

Emergency Response 

Location (ERL) 

Emergency Service 

Number (ESN) 

A location to which a 9-1-1 emergency response team may be 

dispatched. The location should be, specific enough to 

provide a reasonable opportunity for the emergency response 

team to quickly locate a caller anywhere within it. 

A number assigned to specific geographic area within which all 

E9-1-1 calls are routed to one specific PSAP and the residents 

of the area are served be the same Police, Fire and EMS 

agencies. 

EMS Emergency Medical Services 

Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1- 

1) Control Office 

EOL End-of Life 

FDC Fire Dispatch Center 

The Central Office that provides the tandem switching of 9-1- 

1calls. It controls delivery of the voice call with ANI to the 

PSAP and provides Selective Routing, Speed Calling, Selective 

FEMS Fire and Emergency Medical Services 

FireHouse Records management software 

FLSA Fair Labor Standards Act 

GIS Geographical Information System 

INMS Integrated Network Monitoring System 

IRR Internal Recall Recorder 

IVR Integrated Voice Response 

LEADS State of Ohio database that holds information regarding past 

crimes, traffic violations – RMS system data goes into LEADS 

LOGIC Louisville/Jefferson County Information Consortium 

MDCs Mobile Data Computers 

MDT Mobile Data Terminal 

MPDS Medical Priority Dispatch System 

NCIC National Crime Information Center. Computerized index of 

criminal justice information 

NENA National Emergency Number Association 

NFPA National Fire Protection Agency 

OUC Office of Unified Communications 

PBX Private Branch Exchange 

Phase I Provides a PSAP with both the telephone number of the 

person calling and the address of the receiving antenna tower. 

Phase II Provides a PSAP with a more precise location than Phase I. 

The information received includes not only the phone number 

but the latitude and longitude of the caller. The information 

provided must be accurate within 50-300 meters. 

PI Process Improvement 

Positron Solution used for end-to-end call handling and dispatching 

PRI Primary Rate Interface 

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ProQA A software tool used in dispatch centers to help Dispatchers 

move smoothly through entering a case by collecting vital 

information from the caller, asking the appropriate questions, 

and providing the appropriate responses and dispatch levels. 

PSAP Public-Safety Answering Point - call center responsible for 

answering calls to an emergency telephone number for Police, 

Fire and EMS 

QA Quality Assurance 

RMS Records Management System 

TDD Telecommunications Device for the Deaf 

Trunk A concept by which a communications system can provide 

network access to many clients by sharing a set of lines or 

frequencies instead of providing them individually 

TTY/TTD Telephone Typewriter/ Telecommunications Device for the 

Deaf 

UCC Unified Communications Center 

UCT Universal Call Taker 

USCP United States Capitol Police 

VCO Voice Carry Over 

WDA Workforce Development Agency 

ZOLL RescueNet Software solution to help optimize business process, identify 

inefficiencies and the resources to help reduce them. 

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Cuyahoga County: Public Safety Answering Point ... - Cleveland.com

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