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Saturday, January 30, 2016

QUALITY OF SERVICE


Back in December 21, 2015, I submitted Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) requesting information from the Town.  The FOAA read and I quote “Respectfully Request a copy of ALL certification of Dispatch personnel that pertain to Emergency Service/Dispatch.”  Since Lisbon has four (4) regular Dispatchers and six (6) Reserve Dispatchers this should be a simple task.  I received information on only nine 9 Dispatchers.  One Dispatcher apparently does not have any training or no longer works for the town.  However, anytime you are dealing with the Police Department it is never simple.  

I received on January 26, 2016, what I perceived to be the information I had requested, especially since it cost me $50.50.  I received 71 pages of information which broke down to this:  11 duplicate pages, 5 pages had the Course Name redacted, and one blank page. Since I had to pay $.50 per sheet, 17 pages were completely useless but I still had to pay.  Chief Brooks always tries to bury me in paperwork making it more difficult to extract the information I am looking for.  Before I accepted this packet, I asked the Town Manager, Diane Barnes if she was comfortable with the information.  I also asked the Town Clerk, Twila Lycette, if she was comfortable with the information I was being provided in response to the FOAA. Both said “YES” but I have 17 useless pages.

This gets even worst because even though I submitted this over the Christmas holidays it took 29 days to be completed.  Normally, dealing with the Police Department it is around 30 days before I get any response.  During the course of this FOAA, I received emails from the Town Clerk.  One was asking me to come in the next day between 03:00-03:30 to review the training packets which I refused.  Since I asked for copies there should have been no need for me to come in.  In another email, I had to explain again, that I was looking for certification of training. 

Now, I am going to provide you with a sample of what I received on one Dispatcher:

COURSE NAME                                                            DATE COMPLETED

Maine State Police Tier 2 Security Awareness Training       09/11/2015

MAARS-View & APU Operator Certification (State Enhanced 9-1-1 System) 04/5/2001

MAARS-View & APU Operator Certification (State Enhanced 9-1-1 System) 04/5/2001

EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCH                                             12/14/2006

Re-certification (Course Name Redacted)                               12/5/2014

Certificate of Attendance (Maine IF&W and Dispatch)       04/10/2013

Certificate of Attendance (Maine IF&W and Dispatch)       04/10/2013

Certificate of Attendance (School Violence)                           04/10/2013

Certificate of Attendance (School Violence)                           04/10/2013

Certificate of Attendance (State Police Cell Analysis Team) 04/10/2013

Certificate of Attendance (State Police Cell Analysis Team) 04/10/2013

EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCH                                                12/14/2006

EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCH                                                12/14/2006

Weapons of Mass Destruction First Responders Awareness Level Course

02/2/2004

EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCHER                                           10/22/2003

Hazardous Materials First Responder Awareness Level Course 10/20/2003

Re-Certification as Terminal Operator                                                 07/01/2003

Dispatcher & Domestic Violence Crisis Communication Training Program

10/24/1999

WMD/HAZMAT Awareness – Role of the First Responder 12/18/2007

WMD/HAZMAT Awareness – Impact of WMD/HAZMAT Incidents 12/18/2007

WMD/HAZMAT Awareness – Response, Control and Communication 12/19, 2007

WMD/HAZMAT Awareness – Incident Protective Actions                   12/19/2007

WMD/HAZMAT Awareness – Identifying Presence                              12/19/2007

This is a sample of what I received for “Certification pertaining to Emergency Services/Dispatching.”  I understand a lot of this has to do with Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and HAZMAT Awareness training which could be mandatory training for Dispatchers but I never asked for Certification for Attendance.

This is the quality of service one can expect from the Town of Lisbon.

Larry Fillmore

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