AUSTIN, Texas — Editors Note: Statement added from Travis County and the City of Austin regarding Gotcher's 911 call.
When her husband suffered a heart attack, Tonya Gotcher says she waited 15 minutes for a 911 call taker to answer.
"I was screaming because I just wanted somebody to help," Gotcher recalled. "They thought it was domestic violence."
Five months since her husband, Casey, died from that heart attack in their northwest Austin home, Gotcher is left with photos and memories. She hopes her story will be enough to inspire change for the Austin 911 call center.
"The dispatcher and the EMT and the sheriffs were amazing," Gotcher said. "They were just there a little later than we could foresee, I guess."
The City, though, disputes Gotcher's timeline. The City of Austin and Travis County released a joint statement on Oct. 27 reading:
“We were concerned about reports of an unusually long hold time so we looked into this incident. According to Travis County records, the original 911 call came in at 6:04 p.m. and was answered by a Travis County Sheriff's Office Dispatcher within 17 seconds. Fire was on scene at 6:11 p.m., law enforcement at 6:16 p.m. and EMS at 6:21 p.m.”
According to the City, leaders are making changes in an effort to hire more people. The Austin Police Department (APD) and Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) released the following statement:
"Retaining and recruiting more 911 call takers and police dispatchers for our Emergency Communications Center is a top priority. Here are the steps we have taken to address this challenge:
- "We’ve increased pay. Since January 2022, entry pay increased 26% for 911 Call Takers (to $22.85) and 35% for Police Dispatchers (to $24.42). For most of our existing employees, pay increased on average by 13.6%.
- "To retain existing employees, we have reduced mandatory overtime and now offer a $1,800 annual stipend for employees with a TCOLE Telecommunicator Certification. All employees working as a 911 Call Taker or Police Dispatcher must have a current TCOLE certification.
- "Emergency Communication Training Staff are actively training APD Sergeants to work as 911 Call Takers to assist with call volume.
- "Emergency Communications continuously recruits 911 Call Taker and Police Dispatchers"
The Austin Fire Department deferred to APD for comment.
"What we're seeing is when people are not able to get through to 911, they're calling 311 and then being routed to EMS, but when they go through 311, we get a lot less information," Selena Xie, president of the ATCEMS union, said.
Xie praised city leaders' efforts so far but added that hiring changes are happening.
"Our department is making some hiring modifications, which will bring in people that have more communications experience and maybe less EMS experience," Xie said. "Ultimately, our wages are just falling very far behind."
Austin City Councilmember Mackenzie Kelly called for a spotlight to be shown on the call center's issues. She sent the following statement:
"Safety of the community is my top priority, and although it has been challenging, I am focused on finding solutions to critical issues. I have requested a briefing to discuss compression, pay, vacancies and answer rates at the Emergency Communications Center. Our dispatchers and call takers deserve to work in an environment that allows them to provide the highest level of service possible. Austinites deserve a timely response and adequate staffing at the 911 call center, and I look forward to determining the best pathway forward for our community."
On the city council online forum this week, other city council members joined Kelly in pushing for that briefing to happen as soon as next week.
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