COLORADO SPRINGS — As many as 4,000 calls to 911 are “abandoned” each month in Colorado Springs because there are too few call-takers to answer, according to police Lt. Skip Arms.
A call is considered abandoned when the caller hangs up before a technician can answer.
The Colorado Springs Police Department is considering adding an automated message to its 911 system, telling callers that dispatchers are experiencing a high volume of calls and to wait for an answer.
“That’s OK for your credit card company, but not for 911,” said Stephanie Finley, a member of a citizens group trying to bring awareness to a host of public safety and health concerns in El Paso County.
Citizens for Effective Government reports governments in the Colorado Springs area need $178 million for capital needs and $60 million more for annual operating expenses. The group recommended citizens evaluate a raise in fees or property taxes, or a 1-cent sales tax increase.
“We’ve come up with some things we find pretty scary,” said Mike Kazmierski, chairman of Citizens for Effective Government and chief executive of the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Council.
Among the findings:
• Hundreds of restaurants in the city are not inspected even once a year; state law requires twice-a-year inspections.
• The ventilation system at the El Paso County coroner’s office is so inadequate that when a badly decomposed body is brought in for an autopsy, employees must leave the building.
• The county health department does not have enough people to inspect swimming pools and septic systems. Last year, six public pools were closed because of E. coli contamination.
• It takes 21 minutes for sheriff’s deputies to respond to certain sectors of the community. The department’s goal is 10 minutes.
Colorado Springs City Councilman Jerry Heimlicher said the city and county find themselves in a fiscal crisis because of “aspects of TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) that are not working” and a heavy reliance on sales tax, which accounts for 55 percent of the city’s budget. TABOR is essentially an anti-tax law.
“I blame previously elected officials for not being willing to stand up and tell people what they need to hear and not what they want to hear,” Heimlicher said.
Arms said 2,500 to 4,000 calls to 911 are abandoned each month. Employees in the communications center use reverse 911 to call back.
“It’s not like we’re not handling 2,500 emergencies a month,” Arms said.
Callers dialing “9” for an outside line, followed by a “1” for a long-distance call, sometimes realize they have made a mistake and hang up, said Tina Young, manager of the communications center for the Police Department.
“I’m sure that we’ve had delays,” she said. “Am I aware of a fatality? No. Would that be possible? Yes.”
Erin Emery: 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com
