Growth Strains Emergency Management Resources for Arizona County

Pinal County, Ariz., Sheriff Chris Vasquez has watched his county's population explode - during the last two decades, it has increased threefold, from 116,000 people in 1990 to an estimated 336,000 as of December 2007, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. The county posted a nation-leading 16.6 percent increase in "housing starts," totaling 18,000 new homes from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006.

Despite the phenomenal growth spurt, Pinal County has gone without additional, commensurate emergency management resources.

Sandwiched between the urban centers of Tucson and Phoenix, the county covers 5,300 square miles - an area the size of Connecticut - and has nine cities and towns within its incorporated boundaries. Largely rural and desert, the landscape now is dotted with homes as cities annex larger and larger swaths of land.

All this has strained emergency management resources, infrastructure and personnel. But officials say that with a stagnant economy due to the housing market slump, it's an ideal time to play catch-up.

A better flood watch system, expanded radio and communications capabilities for first responders, and additional law enforcement personnel are three areas that need the most attention, according to Pinal County officials.

Officer Shortage ... and More
"If I want 40 percent of my deputies' workday to be spent being proactive," Vasquez said, referring to officers patrolling and making contact with suspicious subjects to stop crime before it starts, "I need another 210 deputies."

Currently Vasquez has a burdened 250-officer force. For now, he depends on about 150 volunteers in search-and-rescue and citizen patrol programs to aid sheriff's deputies and other first responders should a disaster or other emergency occur.

"What we've done recently, because all law enforcement is under a [budget] deficit, is enter into intergovernmental agreements with all nine cities and the Arizona Highway Patrol to pool resources in the event of a disaster," Vasquez said. The agreement with the highway patrol guarantees Pinal additional buses, a helicopter and communications equipment it doesn't have now.

But manpower isn't the only need in Pinal County, where roads, telecommunications and flood control infrastructure are lagging. Funding is even further behind.

Atop the county's priority list is an expansion of its radio coverage to improve interoperability, which is the ability of first responders from different agencies to communicate with one another.

"We're trying to pedal fast during the slowdown in housing," said Jay Vargo, the county's IT radio communications director. "Dispatch needs to be connected, as do the computers in [sheriff's] patrol cars. We need to build towers to extend coverage to areas that are without coverage now.

"People move in, and it takes awhile to get the tax base," Vargo continued, "but police and fire services still need to be supported."

It will take from $1.5 million to $2 million to retrofit Pinal County's patrol cars with laptop computers, he said.

Currently Vargo's 2007-08 budget has $154,000 set aside to replace older radios and radio equipment. Similar amounts of money will be needed each of the next several years to support growth and introduce new technologies designed for voice and data applications, Vargo said.

As for the communications towers, the county has shared and co-located them at other public safety sites. But it's merely a quick fix: New towers to serve expanded growth will cost at least $500,000 apiece. Pinal County is exploring shared-cost options with other agencies to defray the cost.

"There are many dead spots in the county where the dispatcher can't hear the deputy and vice versa, and we're trying to tighten that up," Vasquez said. "We're trying to get laptop computers so our deputy can have text communication with an officer in the city of Casa Grande and at our dispatch. That's the difference between seconds and a half-hour to 45 minutes."