The 411 on Longboat's 911 calls

“911, what’s your emergency?”

Regardless of where you call the three-digit emergency number from in the United States, you’ll probably hear those words.

But who is on the line, and where is he or she located?

On Longboat Key, the first person you will speak to after calling 911 is located on mainland Sarasota or Manatee County. If the caller needs police assistance, he or she will be transferred to a Longboat Key dispatcher within seconds.

But that could change if the town accepts an offer from Sarasota County to take over dispatch services. The town is currently scrutinizing the offer and has until next year to make a decision.

Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming recently explained the way the town and county handle emergency calls to the Longboat Observer.

Manatee County dispatchers answer any 911 calls placed from Longboat Key landlines, along with cellphone calls that ping to a Manatee County cellular tower. A Sarasota County dispatcher answers the cellphone call if it pings to a tower in Sarasota County.

If the call is police-related, the dispatcher immediately transfers the caller to Longboat Key dispatchers, while Manatee County handles all fire/rescue calls.

Longboat Key dispatchers sometimes handle multiple calls simultaneously, according to Cumming. The town’s dispatchers respond to an average of 260 emergency 911 calls per month in addition to an average of 2,900 non-emergency calls per month.

The town spends $368,709 on salaries and benefits for its five dispatch employees. The town’s potential cost savings is currently unknown.

Longboat Key town commissioners have expressed concerns that the county would not provide the level of service that Key residents currently receive from dispatch. The Longboat Key Police Department prides itself on responding to what Town Manager Dave Bullock describes as “snake in the toilet calls.” The county has said it is willing to dispatch officers for those types of calls if the town provides a detailed list of what it expects.

Salary report
Manatee and Sarasota counties offer the following base salaries to dispatchers.
Sarasota County: $31,836 to $64,598
Manatee County: $28,766.40 to $56,284.80

Longboat Key
The town currently pays the following salaries to dispatchers.
Dispatch supervisor: $45,780.80
Dispatchers (four): $32,531.20 to $42,785.60

Path of a 911 call from Longboat Key
Landline: The call goes to the Manatee County Emergency Communications Center, where a dispatcher asks about the nature of the emergency and the caller’s location.

Manatee County: If the call pertains to a police emergency, the county dispatcher routes the call to Longboat Key within seconds. One of two Longboat Key dispatchers are on duty at any given time and handle police calls while also constantly monitoring fire/rescue calls online with Manatee County dispatchers.

Cellphone: The call goes to Sarasota or Manatee County Emergency Communications Center, depending on the person’s location and the location of the closest cellular tower.

Sarasota County: If Sarasota County answers the call and it pertains to a fire or medical emergency, the dispatcher routes the call to Manatee County. If Manatee County answers the call, the dispatcher continues to handle the call.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]