Shortly after being told by the city manager that he was now in charge of the troubled 911 emergency system, Tucson's fire chief held a news conference Wednesday saying he hopes to restore the public's trust but that he does not yet have a detailed plan on how to fix system glitches.
The decision to move oversight away from the General Services Department started last month, City Manager Mike Letcher said Tuesday. However, Tucson Fire Chief Jim Critchley said during the news conference that he wasn't told of the change until a meeting at 3:30 p.m on Monday. General Services Director Ron Lewis said he also found out about the change in oversight that day.
Letcher said he had been discussing the transfer with the deputy city manger and assistant city managers during their weekly Monday meetings.
"I didn't need to involve police and fire in these discussions," he said. "I have the authority as city manager to make those decisions and I felt it was appropriate."
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Critchley was put in charge of the communications center almost three months after the switch to a new phone system that has been plagued by malfunctions, dropped calls, faulty headsets and address-locating screens that don't work properly. Those glitches could have contributed to the death of a 10-year-old girl about a week after the system went online. Some problems continue to happen.
A team of Fire Department officials and staff from the communications department will investigate what is causing problems with the system and create an action plan, Critchley said.
"Right now we haven't had a chance to get into the specific issues," he said. "I need to hear a little bit more, and I have a strong team that will tell me."
Lewis - who until Monday was in charge of the 911 emergency system - said he was "not really happy" about the transfer because he "would have liked to have been able to follow through and get things turned around."
When asked why the city didn't wait until the Fire Department had time to come up with a specific plan, Letcher said, "we already have a plan, the blueprint the Fire Department will be following. It's not like we're starting from ground zero on these issues."
But when Critchley was asked the same question, he said he didn't have an answer. But Critchley said he knew "there's enough people right now that really care about public safety and it was time for a positive change."
Questions about public safety have been raised since the glitches were made public.
City officials have denied public safety has been compromised, but dispatchers who spoke publicly for the first time earlier this week said the public is at risk because the faulty phone system could malfunction at any time.
Critchley was told at the Monday meeting with Letcher that the citizens of Tucson needed to have confidence in the 911 system and by putting Tucson fire in charge, city officials hope to restore that trust.
"I absolutely think it's going to bring back that confidence if confidence was lost," Critchley said.
Letcher sent an email to the mayor and City Council at 4 p.m. Tuesday saying the Fire Department would take over and Deputy City Manager Richard Miranda will be overseeing the transition. Miranda was in charge of the communications department for Tucson police in the late '90s.
Shortly before Letcher's email went out, Councilwomen Regina Romero and Shirley Scott had sent a memo demanding the 911 system be transferred to the Fire Department.
Romero said she just happened to be working on the same concept as Letcher and didn't realize it before they sent the memo. That happens often, Romero said, "especially when there are ideas brewing" about issues, as was the case with the 911 system.
Letcher moved forward with something he was already working on and wasn't responding to the councilwomen's memo, Scott said. Letcher might have talked about the broad philosophical issues of moving the 911 system and left the details to the Fire Department, she said.
Councilmen Steve Kozachik and Paul Cunningham criticized Letcher for not putting the Fire Department in the loop about the switch.
"It's yet another example of how the city management failed," Kozachik said. "You think they bring you in and talk to you about it before they did it."
Kozachik said he agrees with the switch, just not how it was implemented.
It's impossible to transfer the management in only 24 hours, Cunningham said.
Letcher is "trying to wash his hands of this situation," Cunningham said. "I'm frustrated with the manager on how this is unfolding."
Letcher said he talked about the change last weekend and that his decision Monday had nothing to do with a news conference earlier the same day in which five dispatchers spoke of the system glitches and claimed some workers who complained were harassed.
With the Fire Department's help, the communications department will be able to fix the problems, work with vendors, and "get this right," said Geoffrey Kuhn, city communications superintendent.
"The dispatchers are fantastic, and because of their abilities we have been able to overcome some of the problems with the system," Kuhn said.
For decades fire officials had talked about having the 911 system under their watch but there was never a need to change, Critchley said.
The Tucson police dispatch system will not be affected by the transition, Letcher said.
Reporter Rob O'Dell contributed to this report. Contact reporter Fernanda Echavarri at fechavarri@azstarnet.com
