The 911 Center has become a major issue in the campaign for Dane County Executive, with the challenger calling for reform at the emergency dispatching service.
Incumbent Kathleen Falk, who was first elected as Dane County executive in 1997, is promoting reforms she has made to the 911 Center since Brittany Zimmermann’s death last April.
Zimmermann, a UW junior, was killed on April 2, 2008 in her apartment on West Doty Street. A phone call was placed from Zimmermann’s phone to the 911 Center around the estimated time of her death, but no officers were dispatched until her fianc?, Jordan Gonnering, called approximately 50 minutes later.
According to Falk, the incident was an isolated incident that was more due to human error than problems with any of the center’s equipment.
Challenger Nancy Mistele said she did not have extensive knowledge of the necessary equipment needed for the 911 Center but believes the main concerns lie in the management and phone-answering protocol. She proposed to instigate additional special training for 911 Center employees.
Mistele criticized Falk’s hiring of Joe Norwick, the former director of the 911 Center.
“She plucked him out of retirement with no 911 experience, and he failed miserably,” Mistele said. “Then she stood behind him and believed he was the right person for the job.”
Norwick, a former deputy sheriff for about 30 years, was unanimously approved to be the director of the 911 Center by the county board.
Norwick was also a chief deputy sheriff and a chairman of the 911 Center’s board. Falk backed him through the entire controversy until he resigned Sept. 5.
After Norwick resigned, Falk selected Kathy Krusiec, former director of Dane County Emergency Management, to be the interim director of the 911 Center. When hired, Krusiec said she did not want to accept the job permanently.
Currently, the county is undergoing a nationwide search for a new director of the center.
“If we have failures in the system, it starts with the director and goes down the system,” Mistele said. “You don’t pull someone from within to fix the problem. Kathy is part of the problem.”
Mistele also said she wants to concentrate on public safety before dealing with other communal issues by creating adequate jail space to keep prisoners behind bars.
Falk defended herself and said during her tenure, the county’s budget has doubled.
She has worked on creating green jobs and green power in Wisconsin by collaborating with Gov. Jim Doyle and Madison Gas & Electric to lessen coal use at power plants and on the University of Wisconsin campus.
Falk is also promoting a commuter rail system for the area.
“It is important for students, faculty and staff to have more ways to get to campus,” Falk said. “A lot of students don’t own cars so this will be helpful for students to get to and around campus.”
The election for Dane County executive will take place April 7.