City approves hiring IT support for PSCC

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on September 30, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge city council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve hiring two full-time employees using existing funding to allow for the continued support of the city’s Public Safety Communication Centre technology.

The request was made by the City’s IT and Digital Transformation department.

A report to council stated the positions are needed to replace two full-time staff that Lethbridge Police Service managed to support utilizing the Public Safety Communication Centre (PSCC) technology, since LPS isn’t able to provide the support any longer.

LPS IT was previously contracted to provide technology support and until recently there were two full-time positions funded by the PSCC and managed by LPS IT to deliver services.

The City department wants to hire two new employees using existing funding to support systems used by the PSCC and emergency services dispatch.

LPS IT, says a report submitted to council, is starting to reduce the services it provides to the safety communication centre due to a retirement, and is working to transition support services.

The goal, says the report, is to move services to a new Emergency Services IT workgroup under IT Services and Digital Transformation (ITSDT).

Without these new staff, ITSDT doesn’t have the capacity to provide needed support, says the report submitted by Trevor Butler, general manager of IT and Digital Transformation and presented by Jason Elliot, director of Customer, Corporate and Commercial Services.

Elliott told council that the police “have determined they need those resources to be deployed in a different manner” leaving PSCC with the work but not the employees.

Elliot said the funding for the staff will be ongoing “at this point in time.” It was initially contemplated as a budget deliberation item but the decision was made to come to council Tuesday because of the urgency of filling the positions.

“These are critical systems within the PSCC area that need support and attention on a regular basis. So the recruitment process must start right away,” said Elliot.

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