Despite being told to keep quiet about glitches in the new 911 phone system, city dispatchers spoke publicly for the first time Monday.

The public deserves to have a reliable emergency phone system without dropped calls and with locator screens that work properly, said Roberta Vance, a 20-year public safety dispatcher. City officials have not been "completely honest about what's going on," she said.

"It greatly concerns me that on a daily basis while we're using mapping systems, calming hysterical callers, giving CPR instructions and handling other things all at once, I have to worry about trying to make my phone work," she said.

The new 911 emergency system, installed May 25, has had malfunctions and dropped calls in its first several weeks of operation, and may have been a factor in the death of a 10-year-old girl. Some of those glitches are continuing.

Vance, four other dispatchers and a 911 operator spoke to reporters Monday afternoon at Councilman Steve Kozachik's office, 3202 E. First St.

Ron Lewis, head of the city's General Services Department, issued a memo July 8 to department supervisors, advising them to tell staffers not to respond to questions from outsiders about the 911 system.

Such instruction is "in conflict with the rights of the employees," Kozachik said.

Many dispatchers who have voiced their opinions at work and asked for solutions to the recent problems experienced harassment and ridicule from supervisors and peers, Kozachik said.

"All hell is going to break loose if these dispatchers are harassed" after speaking to reporters for the first time, Kozachik warned.

When trained on the new system, dispatchers noticed problems right away, said Shari Williams, a dispatcher with 15 years of experience.

But those overseeing the switch did not ask for their feedback after a four-hour training or at the end of the first two weeks, when the old system was dismantled, Williams said. If they had been asked, many dispatch employees would have told the city not to go through with the switch, she said.

"We lost a fair number of capabilities with the new system," Williams said. "And this phone system, in my opinion, will never give us the support we need."

Calls continue to drop, headsets are not working properly, and the feature that displays the calling party on a map is not showing up at times, Williams, Vance and other dispatchers said Monday.

Dispatchers are working 12-hour shifts several times a week because of understaffing, Kozachik said. They have short breaks and at times do the work of two people, he said.

The extra overtime is costing $65,000 a year, Lewis said.

The Tucson City Council voted last week to cut the number of furlough days for 911 operators and dispatchers from 50 hours to 10 hours this year, as well as "overhire" for open positions to account for attrition.

Although some of the problems with the new phone system are happening less frequently, they're unpredictable, and if they come at the wrong time, public safety could be compromised, said Vicki Jonda, a public safety dispatcher.

"If I'm giving choking instructions or CPR instructions and the call drops, time is of the essence, and seconds can make a difference," she said.

Contact Reporter Fernanda Echavarri at 573-4224 or fechavarri@azstarnet.com