CCR2012027-911
AMENDED
COMMON COUNCIL – CITY OF MUSKEGO
RESOLUTION #027-2012
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING COMMENCEMENT OF
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST ALL NECESSARY PARTIES
IN ORDER TO DEPLOY PHASE I AND PHASE II
WIRELESS 911 SERVICE TO THE CITY OF MUSKEGO
PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT
WHEREAS, on February 3, 2011, the City of Muskego Public Safety Answering Point
(PSAP) completed a wireless 911 telecommunications upgrade which enabled the PSAP to
receive Phase I and Phase II wireless 911 information and geographically plot and re-bid
caller location within the computerized dispatch mapping system, to allow cellular 911 calls
to be routed directly to the City of Muskego PSAP; and
WHEREAS, on April 12, 2011, the City of Muskego Common Council adopted Resolution
No. 48-2011 which declared the City of Muskego Police Department a primary wireless 911
PSAP, in accordance with Wisconsin Statute Section 256.35(3m)(c)(6), and approve
funding for the costs associated with operating a primary wireless 911 PSAP; and
WHEREAS, the City of Muskego has completed all necessary applications and procedures
to require wireless carriers that provide service in the City of Muskego to route cellular 911
calls originating within the City of Muskego directly to the City PSAP; and
WHEREAS, with the exception of T-Mobile, the wireless carriers have not complied with the
City’s request, citing as their reason that Waukesha County has refused to approve this
change; and T-Mobile has now given notice that it will be re-routing its calls to the
Waukesha County Communications Center, based upon Waukesha County’s denial; and
WHEREAS, on June 17, 2011, Waukesha County Communications (WCC) sent a letter to
the City of Muskego citing reasons why they do not support the City of Muskego taking
wireless 911 calls directly, stating that WCC “believes that Muskego’s request is a step
backwards from consolidation,” and citing five particular reasons; and
WHEREAS, the first reason cited by WCC was that this change of routing cellular 911 calls
directly to the City of Muskego PSAP will increase the number of transfers; but the City of
Muskego has found and has advised WCC that this allegation is not accurate, because the
City has carefully selected the towers and faces of towers that will have their calls directly
routed to the City of Muskego PSAP, and these locations are such that the vast majority of
the calls received by the City of Muskego PSAP will be for the City of Muskego PSAP, so
this in fact will drastically reduce the number of transfers; and
WHEREAS, the second reason cited by WCC was that this will likely result in more callers
receiving a busy signal than they do now; but the City has found and has advised WCC that
this allegation is not accurate, because the City provides one line for every 4,827 people,
which is a much better ratio of lines per capita than is provided by the WCC, and also the
City of Muskego would contract with another PSAP to handle any potential overflow calls;
and
WHEREAS, the third reason cited by WCC was that Muskego dispatchers do not provide
emergency medical pre-arrival instructions (EMD), which the WCC provides; however the
City has found that this response, while accurate at the time, is not relevant, because the
City has begun training and will provide EMD service which is identical to that provided by
Waukesha County; and
WHEREAS, the fourth reason cited by WCC was that this would represent a movement
away from consolidation, which is a reversal of nation-wide trends and contrary to the
cooperation principles that numerous municipalities in the County practice; and, the City in
response, notes three points: (1) the City of Muskego has entered cooperative agreements
with other municipalities regarding several issues, and finds cooperation agreements and
shared services to be mutually beneficial in many cases; but, (2) very importantly, the City
of Muskego Police Department and Common Council have weighed the costs and benefits,
and have chosen time and again not to join the WCC, finding it not to be in the best
interests of the City of Muskego, and that joining the WCC would substantially decrease the
level of service provided to City residents, and thereby place Muskego residents at risk; and
(3) the Common Council further finds that this allegation squarely demonstrates WCC’s true
intent in this matter, which is to coerce the City of Muskego to abandon its dispatch center
and pay WCC hundreds of thousands of dollars to join the WCC; and
WHEREAS, the fifth reason cited by WCC was that this will result in the City of Muskego
residents paying more for a service that already exists; and, in response, the City notes
three points: (1) The Common Council has weighed the costs and benefits of dispatch
services and has chosen not to join the WCC, repeatedly, and the Common Council asks
that the WCC respect the City’s sovereign authority over this decision; and (2) the Common
Council has determined that providing a faster and more efficient emergency response to
the citizens of Muskego is more than sufficient justification for any additional costs that
might arise; and, (3) further, if the City would accept WCC’s coercive demand to join the
WCC, the City would incur a cost, upfront, of at least $202,700 (8-15-11), which is in
addition to abandonment of the hundreds of thousands of dollars that the City has spent to
upgrade its local dispatch system, resulting in significant waste of taxpayer dollars, in order
to receive a lower level of service, so the implication that joining the WCC results in costs
savings is at best a remote possibility and at worst simply not true; and
WHEREAS, in Wisconsin, county governments have only such authority as is granted to
them by the State of Wisconsin, pursuant to Wisconsin Constitution Article IV(22); and
Wisconsin Statutes Section 59.03(2) only authorizes Wisconsin counties to offer
intermunicipal cooperation, which Wisconsin cities are empowered to accept or reject; and
WHEREAS, in Wisconsin, cities and villages have home-rule authority pursuant to Section
XI(3) of the Wisconsin Constitution and Wisconsin Statutes Section 66.0101, which is
broader authority than is granted to counties; and the Common Council has complete
management and control of city finances, public service, and power to act for the
government and good order of the City, for its commercial benefit, and for the health, safety
and welfare of the public, pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes Section 62.11(5); and
WHEREAS, when the WCC was created in July 2004, Waukesha County offered to provide
dispatch services throughout the County to those communities who chose to accept such
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service, and several municipalities accepted the service, but several did not, including the
City of Muskego; and
WHEREAS, since January 2007, the City of Muskego has upgraded its PSAP facility to
include enhanced 911 service, at a cost of more than $219,000; and
WHEREAS, the City of Muskego Police Department conducted a six month study between
January and June, 2011, and found that calls routed through the WCC resulted in an
average 72 second delay in reaching the City of Muskego; and
WHEREAS, in emergency situations, delay translates into personal injury, property damage
and loss of lives, and any avoidable delay is simply unacceptable; and
WHEREAS, delays as large as were discovered by the City of Muskego study will certainly
mean loss of life in the City of Muskego at some time in the future if Waukesha County does
not promptly allow cellular 911 calls to be routed directly to the City of Muskego PSAP; and
WHEREAS, even in the recent past, the unnecessary delay of routing cellular 911 calls
through the WCC, instead of routing them directly to the City of Muskego PSAP, has
severely impaired response time and may have resulted in significant adverse injury,
including on Thursday, 8-11-11, when a call was delayed by WCC for 57 seconds before
the call finally reached the City of Muskego, during which time the patient was non-
responsive, and ultimately when the City received the call and responded, the patient had
died and could not be revived; and
WHEREAS, every second matters in life and death emergency response situations; and
WHEREAS, after ongoing discussions and communications between Muskego officials,
WCC representatives, and telecommunications providers, the WCC and the
telecommunications providers have refused to alter their position in this matter; and
WHEREAS, the City of Muskego Common Council finds this to be a matter of protecting
lives of City residents, because the City can and does provide better, more timely and more
efficient dispatch service than the WCC for areas within the City limits, and the Common
Council therefore intends to keep and maintain the City of Muskego dispatch center and
deploy its upgraded facilities for receiving direct enhanced 911 service, and is prepared to
take all necessary legal action to do so and to preserve its sovereign powers over these
issues.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF MUSKEGO that the Mayor, in consultation with the City Chief of Police and the
City Attorney, is hereby directed to attempt, again, to amicably resolve this dispute with
Waukesha County and the telecommunications service providers, so that the City of
Muskego receives Phase I and Phase II wireless 911 service directly at the City PSAP, for
calls originating from within the City of Muskego.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if this matter is not amicably resolved by June 1, 2012,
the City Attorney is hereby directed to serve a Notice of Claim on Waukesha County, and
companion notices on all applicable telecommunications service providers, regarding all
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legal causes of action and remedies that the City may have in this matter, and to require
immediate action such that the City of Muskego receives Phase I and Phase II wireless 911
service directly at the City PSAP, for calls originating within the City of Muskego.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the foregoing Notice of Claim is denied either
expressly or by inaction, the City Attorney is directed to commence an action in the
appropriate State or Federal court having jurisdiction, regarding all legal causes of action
and remedies in this matter, and also seeking an order of injunction to allow the City to
receive Phase I and Phase II wireless 911 service directly at the City PSAP, for calls
originating within the City of Muskego.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and the Chief of Police are directed to seek
the participation of other independent PSAPs, to join and share the cost arising in this
matter, for the mutual benefit of all similarly situated PSAPs in Waukesha County.
Dated this 27th day of March, 2012.
CITY OF MUSKEGO
_________________________
Kathy Chiaverotti
This is to certify that this is a true and accurate copy of Resolution #027-2012 which was
adopted by the Common Council of the City of Muskego.
__________________________
Sharon Mueller, Clerk
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