Southampton Village Board Hires New Public Safety Dispatcher Following Outcry From Union Chief

The Southampton Village Board on Tuesday voted to hire a new public safety dispatcher. The move came after criticism from officials from the union representing the dispatchers.

According to a letter from Michael Reid, president of the Southampton Village Police Radio Operators Benevolent Association, that was made public last week, the failure of Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren and the Village Board of Trustees to replace two public safety dispatchers had created a dangerous situation.

“I’m very happy they moved forward with it last night,” Mr. Reid said Wednesday morning. “I’m very happy to hear we have the board’s support to hire a second person, also. I’m very proud of how our dispatchers have stepped up to fill all the shifts.”

Woefully understaffed, the dispatch center has been filling shifts with personnel working overtime. During the board meeting, Police Chief Thomas Cummings pointed out that the current situation, using overtime, costs more than hiring one member of the staff. Mr. Reid informed that overtime costs could top $144,000 compared to the $49,000 salary for a new staff member.

The new dispatcher will begin next month and will have to be trained, so staffing may continue to be stretched throughout the summer. “We’re not out of the water yet, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” Mr. Reid said.

Each member of the Village Board received the letter, which was also sent anonymously to The Southampton Press.

Dated June 24, the letter expresses “how deeply disappointed our members are to hear that you did not move to hire any Public Safety Dispatchers at the Village Board meeting on June 23rd … The Southampton Village Police Radio Operators Benevolent Association demands that you hire Public Safety Dispatchers to bring us to adequate staffing level.”

“Your inaction has caused a dangerous situation that will put the lives of village residents, visitors, first responders and employees at risk,” the correspondence continues, asking the board hold a special meeting to move on the hirings. It mentions the situation cannot wait until the July 9 meeting — which came and went with no action taken.

Asked to respond to the letter, Mayor Warren this week blamed Village Administrator Russell Kratoville. “He oversees that,” Mr. Warren said, asserting that it’s the administrator’s job to provide a list of candidates. Advised that interviews took place last year, and that there were candidates on a list, the mayor then declined to discuss personnel matters.

Hiring the necessary staff “has been my recommendation,” said Mr. Kratoville. However, he pointed out that bringing forth a resolution to hire the dispatchers is the mayor’s decision.

According to New York State Village Law, the power to appoint employees is vested in the mayor, subject to the approval of the board of trustees.

“The situation that you have created by repeatedly refusing to hire additional staffing is dire,” Mr. Reid’s letter continues. Speaking to The Press on Thursday, July 16, Mr. Reid said, “We’re in a real, real, real tight spot right now.”

Last winter, he said, “We knew we were going to be short.” In February, association members met with Mr. Warren, aware that one dispatcher was retiring and another had given notice.

“We knew we were losing two, so we were pushing to hire two, to get new hires in and trained before summer,” Mr. Reid said. One hire in March brought the department to minimal staffing.

By mid-June, the person hired in March to fill one vacancy, put in two week’s notice. At that point, Mr. Reid said, “We asked to hire two again, or at least one, depending on who they hired.” An inexperienced new staff member would need three to four months to train. Nothing came up at the next board meeting. “I wrote to the board, again requesting more staffing, and nothing happened,” Mr. Reid said.

“People are getting burned out,” he said this week. “We’ve got people working 30, 40 extra hours a week on top of their 40 hours a week. The overtime check is nice, but at a certain point … People are tired … you really never know if you’re going home. You could be there, 16, 17 hours, go home and sleep for four or five hours, then come back and work another 16, 17 hours.” If they lost one person, he said, there isn’t anybody to fill in that spot.

State law requires all Public Service Answering Points be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by a minimum of two qualified dispatchers. The dispatch under the Southampton Village Police Department is a PSAP, and receives funding from the county to operate as such.

The minimum number needed is 10 dispatchers plus two supervisors. The department was staffed at 11, with enough dispatchers for each squad, plus one extra to fill in if one person was off or sick. There are currently nine members of the radio operators department. One full-time slot is filled continually with overtime, Mr. Reid said.

“I love my job. I love coming in to work, but it’s getting harder and harder to come in to work when we’re asking for so little and we’re not getting it, it’s really frustrating,” he said.

His letter concludes, “The Southampton Village Police Radio Operators Benevolent Association feels the Mayor’s and the Board of Trustees’ failure to hire adequate staffing has put people’s lives at risk. Our job is to help and protect the people and you are making it impossible to do so.”

Mr. Reid reported that he had not received a response to the letter from Mr. Warren. In a group email, one board member he didn’t identify replied, he said, asking “Why have we not moved forward on this? This is an emergency.”

Deputy Mayor Rich Yastrzemski is also the village’s Deputy Public Safety Commissioner. He said he couldn’t comment regarding why the hirings had been delayed. Agreeing that the understaffing was a danger, he said, “I’m not sure all the board members understand the gravity of it.”

He anticipated an outcome “shortly,” he said Thursday, adding that he has always been supportive of making sure the department is adequately staffed. The good news, he said, is that there are people in the queue, and the positions are already depicted in the village budget.

Board member Mark Parash said, “We need to get two more dispatchers hired to stop the pressure and stress they are encountering from a lack of full staff.”

“Southampton Village has had one of the best 911 desks in the state,” the board member continued. “We have been able to have a car with flashing lights in a driveway within 90 seconds after a 911 call.”

According to Mr. Reid, in 2019 dispatchers answered 57,524 phone calls, and 2,270 emergency 911 calls, dispatching 18,881 calls for service between the Southampton Village Police, ambulance and fire department, as well as North Sea and Bridgehampton fire departments.

“That averages 163 phone calls and 51 calls for service per day,” Mr. Reid wrote.

Village Board member Kimberly Allan said she was only recently made aware of the staffing shortage.

“During these challenging times, this can present potential life and safety issues given their shift obligations,” she wrote in an email. “At a minimum, I would like to see an immediate hire, but also a full understanding as to why this situation has come to this point. If alternatives are being contemplated, I am not aware of the rationale, but believe that these require analysis and lead times that are way beyond the here and now.”

“The village is at risk,” board member Andrew Pilaro said Friday. “But it is not the board’s job to put forward names for hires. It’s the mayor’s, and the board ratifies names proposed by him. He has not brought forth any names for the board to ratify for the position as of yet.”

During the meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Warren said he’d like the next hire to be “data-driven.” He wanted information on what types of calls the dispatchers answer. Mr. Reid pointed out Wednesday that regardless of the type of calls, there needs to be staff to answer them.