Our tax dollars hard at work: Costly 911 Center Remodeling Called a Waste
The Daley administration spent $480,000 to modify 911 center consoles to accommodate 17-inch monitors instead of the current 15-inch models, even though the consoles themselves were about to be replaced, a source said.
...OEMC spokesperson Jennifer Martinez insisted that the fix cost $3,600 per console or $386,000.
She defended the decision to modify consoles scheduled to be replaced.
"We're still in negotiations [with the furniture contactor]. It could be up to a year before we see new work stations," Martinez said.
"In the meantime, we do not want to risk public safety. It's critical to public safety to have the latest technology on the 911 floor. We want to equip our call takers and dispatchers with the most up-to-date equipment possible. It's the balance between that and finances" that the city is attempting to strike.
A couple of questions come to mind: Who is this unnamed vendor that got this contract? I'm willing to be the vendor's got clout. And we all know, clout=money. Also, if 17 inch monitors are so vital to public safety, why didn't we have them in the first place? It's not like these things just came out. And if monitor size matters so much, why isn't the city installing 20+ inch monitors that are common today? Is two inches of screen surface really so important that we need to waste money like this, especially when our city budget is hurting so bad? Don't even get me started on all the rumors I have heard about our new state-of-the-art 911 call center having technological issues and going down often. Couldn't be true.
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