MODESTO — Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse, firm in his desire to implement a new computer-assisted dispatch system produced by Oracle and break away from the Stanislaus Regional 911 call center, will forge ahead with his desired plan on the Sept. 22 go-live date, according to the latest update presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, August 22.
SR911, meanwhile, will utilize the CentralSquare system to serve Modesto’s police and fire departments, as well as other county agencies.
Dirkse favors Oracle because it has the ability, he has said, to incorporate not only a CAD system, but jail-management and records-management systems — items that are critical to his office.
The dispute has dragged on for more than a year, with Dirkse even threatening legal action if the board usurped his investigative or prosecutorial authorities, which he claims are set forth by the California State Association of Counties.
The supervisors, looking somewhat beleaguered at the tail end of a five-hour meeting, voiced their displeasure that this issue hasn’t been resolved, and that the window to implement the new products is closing fast.
“I’m disheartened in the same way you are. I just want you to know that,” District 2 Supervisor Vito Chiesa said to Kasey Young, the executive director of SR911. “It seems like there was a path to get the Oracle system… It seems like we’re trying to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. That’s the way I feel right now. It’s just frustrating for me.”
District 3 Supervisor Terry Withrow was the most pointed with his comments.
“What the hell is going to happen here?” Withrow asked Sheriff’s Lt. Brock Condit. “We’re talking about deputies’ safety, we’re talking about the public’s safety, and we’re sitting here at 11 o’clock trying to figure this out… I don’t think anybody has a clue what’s going to happen in 30 days.
Withrow continued: “You better have it going in 30 days, OK? And God help you if something happens to one of our deputies or somebody in the public… It’s going to be on you guys if this thing doesn’t work in 30 days and somebody gets hurt.”
Board chairman Buck Condit (District 1), brother of Lt. Condit, also voiced his displeasure over the impasse.
“There was a pathway to get to Oracle, to get what the sheriff wanted, to get that JMS, RMS, and CAD,” said Chairman Condit. “There was also a pathway for the rest of the JPA members to have CentralSquare, but it just required a little bit of time and patience for Phase 1, and then working toward Phase 2. I just can’t get over the fight to not even try those phases.
“I think this is a deputy-safety issue, I think it’s a citizen-safety issue for unincorporated areas and contract cities. I have not been moved away from that thought.”
Lt. Condit told the board that Oracle is not the cause of the delay.
“Oracle has been ready to go,” said Lt. Condit. “We went live in December of last year, dispatching calls to deputies on the street in Ceres to test the platform… We did it again in several demos for people that wanted to see the system. We’ve been ready to go. The hold up has been trying to get these two companies to work together.”
Young said that CentralSquare offers the products Dirkse is seeking.
“When we’re talking about RMS, JMS, and CAD, CentralSquare does offer all of these products in one public-safety suite,” Young said.
