County Searches for New Director

Dane County (Wisc.) is searching for a new permanent Director of Public Safety Communications, offering up to a five-year contract to manage two admin staffers, 7 supervisors and 72 dispatchers serving Madison and “dozens” of smaller agencies. The center continues to be the focus of debate over the handling of a 911 call from the apartment of murder victim Brittany Zimmermann in April, 2008. Dispatcher Rita Gahagan answered the 911 call, but failed to call it back or send police when it was disconnected. Zimmermann was found about an hour later by her boyfriend. In Oct. 2008 then-director Joe Norwick resigned after 30 years service, but didn’t explain why he left. He made statements after the incident based on mis-information, indicating that Gahagan did make a call-back, leading to public and media distrust. Download (pdf) the director job flyer here.