Baltimore County has pulled police officers and paramedics off the streets to fill vacancies in the county's understaffed 911 center.
The seven police and fire department employees previously worked in the 911 center and were called back for up to 12 months, said Ellen Kobler, a county spokeswoman. They will remain at the 911 center until several groups of new employees are trained.
The 911 center has 190 positions for call-takers and dispatchers, with 20 vacancies, according to the county. The center also has a higher-than-average use of sick leave, which also makes it difficult to keep the center staffed. About 32 employees work in the center for each of three shifts per day.
As a result, call-takers and dispatchers are often forced to work mandatory overtime, up to eight hours on top of a regular eight-hour shift, according to union officials.
County officials said the police and fire departments — with more than 1,000 uniformed employees each — can absorb the short-term loss of a handful of employees.
The employees were not given a choice about the transfers.
"Our obligation is public safety. This is what we get paid to do," said Fred Homan, the county's chief administrative officer.
But some union leaders are skeptical of the plan.
"Taking a cop off the street on a shift that is short-staffed in the first place to work in the 911 center … doesn't help," said David Rose, second vice president of the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 4. "Both are equally important."
The transfer won't resolve the overall staffing problems in the 911 center, said John Ripley, president of the Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees, which represents 911 employees.
"We welcome the relief to the mandatory overtime, but it will only add to the problem of disgruntled employees," he said.
The union and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's administration have been tussling in recent weeks over a proposal to make 911 employees work 12-hour shifts that rotate between days and nights. They currently work fixed shifts that are eight hours long.
Last week, dozens of 911 center employees turned out to a Baltimore County Council meeting to express their frustration. The union wants any changes to shifts and schedules to be negotiated as part of their next contract.
The union sent a letter to the county on Monday alleging the county has unfairly negotiated directly with employees through surveys. The union requested that the county set up official meetings with the union and threatened to file charges of unfair labor practices if the county refuses.
Homan said the county has no plans to meet with the union, but he said the surveys have been halted.
The county plans to change 911 workers to eight-hour, rotating shifts in January, and Homan said that doesn't need to be negotiated with the union. The 12-hour shifts would occur only if approved in contract negotiations.
Travis Galliher, who works at the 911 center, said many employees are amenable to 12-hour shifts, but not with rotating between days and nights, which would complicate child care and their ability to take college classes.
"All we request is to have a fixed, assigned shift … Rotating shifts are an additional, unnecessary hardship added to an already difficult career," Galliher said.
Kamenetz visited the county's 911 center in Towson on Thursday for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week to honor employees and tour the center.
"We're continuing to talk to the employees to see where we can get some resolution," Kamenetz said. "This is an active, engaging process."
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