PR 25-0555 — Retired Firefighter and Police Officer Redeployment Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2023

_____________________________ENROLLED CouncilmemberORIGINAL Christina Henderson 4 6 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 925-378 _________ IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA __________________December 5, 2023 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend,amend on an emergency basis, the Retired Police Officer Redeployment Amendment Act of 1992 to allow retired Metropolitan Police Department officers and retired firefighters from the Fire and Emergency Services Department to be eligible for rehire at the discretion of the Director of the Office of Unified Communication as a temporary full-time or temporary part-time 911 call takertakers or 911dispatchers dispatcher without jeopardy to the retirement benefits of the employee.

RESOLVEDRESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Retired Firefighter and Police Officer Redeployment Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2023”.

There are currently pension offset exemptions for retired Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)(“MPD”) officers who are rehired as fully sworn temporary full-time or temporary part-time police officers, rehired as temporary full-timefull- time or temporary part-time employees at the Department of Forensic Sciences,Sciences or hired by the Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools as security personnel.

(b) ThisThe emergency legislation would grantallow to firefighters retired from the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS)(“FEMS”) and police officers retired from MPD eligibilityofficers forto rehirebe rehired at the discretion of the Director of the Office of Unified Communications (OUC)(“OUC”) as temporary full-time or temporary part-time 911 call takers or 911 dispatchers without decreasing their retirement benefits.

ENROLLED ORIGINAL They would bring the expertise and knowledge that they acquired over decades on the front lines of emergency response into the heart of OUC operations, including their knowledge of the city’sDistrict’s geography, their medical expertise, and knowledge of the information that firefighters and police officers need from dispatchers when responding to a scene.

(d) OUC must maintain a minimum number of 911 call takers and dispatchers to timely and safetysafely carry out core 911 response operations.

Recently, in October 2023, 30 out of 67 911 callcall-taker taker and dispatcher shifts did not meet staffing targets.

OnIn four4 days in November 2023, fewer than half of 911 calls were answered in 15 seconds or less.

(e) Since OUC’s 911 Performance Dashboard was launched, several residents submitted feedback regarding 911 call wait times, which received the response, “OUC is working to hire more 911 call takers to minimize the call wait times.” OUC has had chronically high vacancy rates over the past few years and instituted obligatory overtime policies to maintain minimum staffing levels.

These staffing challenges complicate OUC’s efforts to deliver timely and high-qualityhigh- quality frontline emergency response services to District residents.

(f) ThisThe emergency legislation can help OUC reduce the number of understaffed 911 call taker and dispatcher shifts, reduce call time waits, more frequently limit shifts for 911 call takers and dispatchers to a maximum of 8 hours, and reduce OUC’s use of mandatory overtime to fill staffing gaps for critical roles.

It shouldwill likely increase interagency collaboration and understanding, as retired firefighters, police officers, and OUC call takers and dispatchers work together to address District residents’ urgent medical and safety needs.

(g) Emergency legislation is needed to allow OUC to hire retired firefighters and police officers who apply for 911 call taker and 911 dispatcher positions as soon as openings are next posted.

The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Retired Firefighter and Police Officer Redeployment Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 be adopted after a single reading.