Tybee Island is the only Chatham County city to run its own 911 dispatch center

Yet one municipality, Tybee Island, runs its own 911 dispatch and turned down the chance to join the county despite significant cost savings - $225,000 annually - and interoperability.

City officials say the island, which is physically isolated from the rest of the county on the mainland, benefits from having its own town-focused dispatch. Leaders say changing such a long-held system would pose logical challenges.

However, isolation comes with challenges of its own.

Tybee opts out of county E911

Last year, Chatham County proposed a streamlined 911 system that would include all eight municipalities, unincorporated areas, the school district, Chatham Emergency Management Services (CEMS) and the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.

According to the county, the new computer-aided dispatch/record management system (CAD/RMS) would "allow police, fire and EMS to distribute information quicker across municipal boundaries (and) promote better coordination and emergency response."

The proposed funding model would have saved Tybee nearly 85% of their current 911 center costs of $266,000.

Credit: Courtesy of Chatham County

Credit: Courtesy of Chatham County

. On the surface, the decision to opt out confused many, but City Manager Shawn Gillen explained that the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Non-emergencies flood call center

For one, he said, an overwhelming majority of calls taken at the island’s 911 dispatch are administrative, non-emergency calls — calls that can range from questions about the weather or traffic to a baby bird falling out of its nest.

Last year, those admin calls made up about 78% of phone-ins, according to call records.

“So as far as cost savings, probably not from our perspective, because we would have to address those administrative costs through some other similar means like a 311 center,” said Gillen.

The flood of non-emergency calls is a dilemma that presumably most 911 centers deal with. About 40% of the county's call traffic are non-emergencies, said County Manager Lee Smith. It's a matter of educating residents, said Smith, a widespread problem with a simple answer: "If it's not an emergency, don't call 911."

Consolidation would leave some callers in the lurch

Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

Tybee Island Police Department's (TIPD) 911 dispatch center, also known as a public safety answering point (PSAP), was first established in 2004 by police captain Tiffany Hayes.

"Before that, to contact dispatch, you had to call the non-emergency line. That is one reason that many of our emergency calls from locals actually come in on the non-emergency line," said Erin Martinez, terminal agency coordinator for Tybee’s dispatch.

Another challenge is that a majority of those admin calls are made by visitors on the island, which can balloon to about 30,000 on the weekends during the spring and summer months.

While Tybee might be able to educate its nearly 3,115 permanent residents on the proper use of 911, that task is infeasible for Tybee’s visitors, Gillen said, "it's the nature of the beast of the tourism industry."

Martinez describes the call center as the city’s directory — splitting it apart would pose logistical problems and leave some callers in the lurch.

“It would be a major change to the level of operation to the citizens of Tybee. When they call 911, they’re getting the best possible service they can get,” said Gillen. “Tybee is a unique place with a lot of hidden corners. The ability to have it (911) in our own control is important.”

Shortfalls still in a separate system

Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News

The biggest question is how having a separate system affects Tybee’s ability to handle emergencies. Tybee runs its own fire and police departments but participates in the countywide ambulance service agreement with Chatham Emergency Services.

Chuck Kearns, CEO of Chatham Emergency, said there is a discrepancy between how Tybee’s and the county’s systems relay information to his organization's dispatch.

“From the (county) 911 center, it comes in electronically and populates the fields in our computer system. From Tybee, it comes in via telephone and we have to type it in,” explained Kearns. “There’s no computerized bridge between Tybee and CEMS (Chatham Emergency Management Services).”

The delay may seem small — and ambulances can be dispatched as soon as CEMS has an address, said Kearns — but in an emergency, seconds can matter.

Martinez said that their dispatch sometimes receives calls outside of their jurisdiction as well due to faulty signals.

“You can get calls from Wilmington Island, from Hilton Head; occasionally, you can get further into Savannah,” said Martinez. “We only have two towers and ideally you want three to triangulate.”

Dispatch redirects the call within seconds, said TIPD Chief Robert Bryson, “but those things happen and, you know, lives are lost in seconds.”

Bryson also pointed out that joining the county could streamline communications between municipalities.

“If we’re all using the same dispatch we would be able to scan the other channels that the other dispatchers are on,” said Bryson.

Future of Tybee's 911 dispatch 

Moving to a new system with the county isn’t out of the question in the future, according to Tybee officials.

“But if we do, it’ll be a technological decision that benefits the residents and visitors here,” said Gillen. “That is something that we’re constantly evaluating.”

Smith said it's something that they're continuing to discuss with the city as the county phases into its new 911 system in the next 18 months.

Chief Bryson called 911 dispatchers the "unsung heroes of law enforcement and first responders." Another imperative issue, he said, is the stressful nature of the job exacerbated by staffing shortages plaguing both the county and Tybee.

A call taker can receive up to 300 to 400 calls during their 12-hour shift. And there’s typically one dispatcher on each shift at the Tybee center.

"Ideally, they’d like to have at least two people at a time," said Martinez. “We try to get the call within one to three rings."

Chatham County's call center has been recruiting new employees and increased  salaries in September to draw more qualified candidates. County call takers earn $16.36 an hour, up from $14.88. A communication dispatcher earns $18 an hour, up from $16.37 (wages are after completion of training).

Tybee’s starting wage for 911 dispatchers is $15 an hour, an increase from $13.85 an hour.

“On some days it's just call after call after call,” said Jessica Tipton, one of the Tybee Island dispatchers, “and you just slide in where you can.”

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tybee Island is the only Chatham County city to run its own 911 dispatch center