This resolution will be voted on by Allegany County Legislators during a meeting Monday afternoon.
A
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING H.R. 1629, the “911 SAVES” ACT AND THE SENATE COMPANION
BILL
Offered by: Public Safety Committee
WHEREAS, the 911 Saves Act directs the
United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reclassify Public Safety
Telecommunicators from “Office and Administrative Support Occupations” to the
category of “Protective Service Occupations,” and
WHEREAS, the federal government’s OMB
Standard Occupation Classification System (SOCS) sorts workers into
occupational categories for statistical purposes, according to the nature of
the work performed, and in some cases, on the skills, education, or training
needed to perform the work, and
WHEREAS, 911 Telecommunicators in the
United States are currently incorrectly categorized in the SOCS as an “Office
and Administrative Support Occupation,” a category which included secretaries,
office clerks, and taxi cab dispatchers, and
WHEREAS, classifying 911
Telecommunicators as an “Office and Administrative Support Occupation” fails to
recognize their central role in public safety and homeland security, their
specialized training and skills, and their uniquely stressful work environment,
and
WHEREAS, classifying Public Safety
Telecommunicators as “Protective Service Occupations” alongside police,
firefighters, security guards, lifeguards, and others whose job is to protect
our communities would better reflect the work they perform, and align the SOCS
with related classification systems, now therefore, be it
RESOLVED:
1. That the Allegany County Board of Legislators supports the
passage of H.R. 1629, the Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act
of 2019 (911 SAVES Act), which would direct the Office of Management and Budget
to reclassify public safety telecommunicators as a “Protective Service
Occupation.”
2. That this Board calls upon members of
the State of New York’s House of Representatives delegation to co-sponsor H.R.
1629.
3. That this Board will continue to
advocate for an accurate statistical classification for 911 professionals to
support critical research into the nature and impact of 911 jobs, which differ
substantially from those encountered by non-public safety “Office and
Administrative Support Occupations.”
