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Clarifying questions were asked by the elected officials and answered by Emergency <br /> Services staff. <br /> Matt Cjazkowski asked for some data on what percentage of ambulance calls are for <br /> UNC. <br /> Jim Ward asked about the recommendation and said that this should be solved quicker <br /> than "several years." <br /> Fire Chief Dan Jones (Chapel Hill) said that he was asked to speak on behalf of the <br /> communities in response to the report. He said that there is a combination of indicators here <br /> that demonstrates that this is much more of a priority problem than may seem on the surface. <br /> He said that the increased workloads, etc., was hidden from view because of changes in the <br /> system, increased service demands, increased dependency on first responders, and multiple <br /> changes in leadership at Orange County Emergency Services. These have all contributed to <br /> the camouflaging of this problem. The increased processing time is only a piece of the problem. <br /> The other piece of the problem is the lack of telecommunicators. <br /> He said that the delays in dispatching are affecting their response time and they can not <br /> do anything about it because they are at the mercy of the Orange County system. This is <br /> frustrating when they are trying to maintain a quality emergency service. <br /> They support these recommendations and this warrants a higher priority than is <br /> indicated in the report. This cannot be phased in over many years. The workload is having <br /> detrimental affects on response times and staff. There are fatigue and morale issues. <br /> The last piece operationally is the increased demand of the mutual-aid partners in <br /> Durham County and Alamance County. He said that it appears that they are subsidizing the <br /> neighbors and they do not want to do this anymore. This is a critical public safety issue. <br /> Mayor Stevens said that the Hillsborough Town Manager regretted that he could not be <br /> here tonight and they see the stress in this issue. He said that the purpose of government is to <br /> protect. The Town of Hillsborough shares this concern with everyone. <br /> Randee Haven-O'Donnell said that she agreed with Mayor Stevens and these numbers <br /> are appalling. She said that the residents in this County would be outraged if they knew these <br /> numbers and this could be a perfect storm. She supported the recommendations. <br /> Jim Ward said that they need to apply additional resources to this area that approaches <br /> the best management practices in this budget cycle. <br /> Mayor Chilton said that the elected officials will be counting on the Board of County <br /> Commissioners to take progressive action on this as soon as possible. <br /> 4. Next Assembly of Governments Meeting — September 16, 2010 <br /> 5. Adjournment <br /> The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM. <br /> Valerie Foushee, Chair <br /> Donna S. Baker, CMC <br /> Clerk to the Board <br />