Pocono News Section

I-Team Update: Luzerne County 9-1-1 Report

I-Team Update: Luzerne County 9-1-1 Report - Monday, November 3, 2008 at 6:00PM EST

Reported by: Joe Holden
Monday, Nov 3, 2008 @ 06:00pm EST
Several months ago in an I-Team exclusive, Eyewitness News broke details about a Luzerne County 9-1-1 Center report cover-up. And you might remember, as we were told one story about the 9-1-1 center, the whole picture never surfaced until we pressed leaders to get a hold of a controversial draft report. And just hours ago, 9-1-1 leaders finally provided us with answers to a lot of questions.

Today Luzerne County 9-1-1 operations are said to be running smoothly. It's been four months since Eyewitness News exposed the cover-up of a report that pin-pointed a mass of problems at the center.

The comprehensive draft report criticized management. Electrical systems were said to be on the verge of jeopardizing operations, and the heating / ventilation system was apparently in a shambles. The report indicated there was a potential for mold in ductwork.

The document also questioned low morale among workers. Luzerne County Commissioner Steve Urban said, “You’ve got to make sure you have high morale. That's a leader's responsibility to improve morale and keep it high. Because when morale is low, it does impact on job performance.”

Commissioner Urban is critical of 9-1-1. He fought to get a copy of what was a secret report. “I believe we should've been provided with the full report from the get-go and we weren't,” he said.

Urban alleged a former county manager purposely quashed everything you see in pink and for political reasons. That manager denied the claim.

Since our last investigation, the county's Public Safety Chief resigned. And today, 9-1-1 leaders provided Eyewitness News with a thorough copy of how problems indicated in the draft report were addressed.

It writes the building's ventilation system has been monitored, with more testing expected. It also addressed the wiring issues that supposedly date back to the center's construction.

Commissioner Urban, though, said he's still irked at how such important information was initially handled by some county leaders. “And you can't fix things if you don't know that there's something wrong with them and you can't fix things if they're not brought to your attention,” he said.

And we pressed the engineering firm that completed the report for information regarding this apparent cover-up. They referred us back to the administration that ordered the report.