From Janice Quintana to Jennifer Greene to Chris Geldart, with no real change at the DC’s Office of Unified Communications (911). Are we to believe that Karima Holmes is our new savior or is
she just the latest in a long line of Get paid-Do nothing directors. After Quintana was dismissed, sorry resigned, Jennifer Greene took over the OUC helm to the tune of $190,000 per year and did absolutely-positively nothing. She couldn’t even speak coherently when she appeared before the City Council. It was like listening to a 5th grader, but this was our one hundred and ninety thousand dollar a year… “Communications Director”. What a joke !!!
Okay Ms. Holmes, let’s see what you’ve got. Employees are telling the Concerned Citizen that heads need to roll in that place, beginning with the Operations Manager, before any real change can take place.
The Concerned Citizen strongly suggests that you listen to your “non-supervisory” employees for a change, they have a lot to say and, if you listen, you may just find the problem within.
Filed under: Public Service
Dateline: Washington, D.C. 
The lead dispatcher Robin Scott that wasn’t paying attention and DID NOT SEND ALS for A citizenship in cardiac arrest IS ONE OF THE HAND PICKED TRAINING INSTRUCTORS by Ingrid Bucksell. IT wasn’t until recently Scott wanted to try and take her job serious until her daughter graduated out of the fire fighter cadet class. It wasn’t until Ms.Scott daughter who is now assigned to Engine Company #14 Ms.Scott started telling her co workers they need to pay attention because she have a daughter working out there, meaning her daughter is a field provider.
Hi Concern citizen (web123@Yahoo.com), thanks for your response. I’m Jillian, a staff writer at the Concerned Citizen. I wanted to know if the person named in your response is verified as the dispatcher who actually made that unfortunate error where the citizen died? Also, do you know whether or not Director Holmes has been made aware of the other allegations made in your response?
Yes 10000% sure she is the person that was the lead dispatcher at the time.
@Tee. Wrong……I’m not just talking about the FEMS/EMS side. Remember, the agency is called Unified Communications, so it includes the MPD side as well. Not all that returned to dispatching requested to step down. As I stated, some were demoted.
Hearing first hand from the few remaining IT guys they’re not fairing so well either. A lot of issues with the field laptops, GPS, and even CAD began when they removed the IT employees and replaced them with untrained contractors. It’s been proven that many of these contractors, especially the managers all have had some previous relationship with the cio. Most of the issues have been known by IT for years and have just been hidden. From my perspective the entire management Deputy Director, CIO, COO, Ops Manager, IT manager as well as HR must be replaced by qualified, real managers with talent that can make decisions based on what’s best for the Agency and not their personal gain and power as well as motivate and effectively manage human capital.
This is interesting! Reading the comments about this agency that has fallen in between the CRACKS! One thing needs to be recognized ! Management is obviously the weakest link to this puzzle! Why would you move a operations manager back to where they came from to stir the pot , with bitterness from the back door instead of moving them out of the door and wishing them well in there future endevours!
Everyone needs a job. Even though Ms. Bucksell is not qualified for her current position, she is well qualified to dispatch on the FEMS/EMS side
. This is not unheard of. There are others that were demoted and is doing well. What pot would be stirred? Really!!
Everyone needs a job…but not everyone deserves a certain job. It’s well documented she’s almost singlehandedly run this operation over a cliff so she deserves a lesser position? She wouldn’t lose any money by demotion and who the hell would want to work for her after she’s backstabbed and lied her way to the top? Typical D.C. Government thinking…precisely why the building is full of incompentents now. Turds need to be flushed.
Haywood, what are you talking about? If she is demoted, no one would be working for her. She would be apart of a team and can only keep her salary for a year or 2. You are right, that is why the agency has incompetent employees because of the hateful and devious thinking some of the employees possess. Just like her. Be careful. Don’t be to quick to want someone to lose their job. You just might lose yours.
Ok, let me comment on this. If u are speaking on the two young ladies that was supervisor neither one was demoted they ask to step down n it happen
I am hoping that the new director will bring in her own staff or at least change the current upper management staff and frontline supervisors. It would be beneficial to her, as well as the agency; to have an unbiased upper management staff and frontline supervisors.
In reference to the Operations Floor Manager, Ingrid Bucksell, I believe that she needs to be placed back on the FEMS/EMS side as a dispatcher because they are short and she is not qualified for her current position.
Furthermore, I am hoping that she will allow the employees that are stuck in a position, not because they desire to be; but because of the favoritism that is running rampant within the agency. Also, I am hoping that she will stop paying people from other states to come and teach the employees how to handle calls for service in the District of Columbia. I believe that she should keep that money within the agency and invest in her employees.That would save the agency tons of money. In addition, I hope the new director will allow each and every employee the opportunity for upward mobility that will certainly bring up morale.
Same old DC government CRAP! Maybe a Trump/Palin republican ticket is the answer. I’m a government worker, city resident, and black democrat, but I’m growing very tired of the bull…t in this city. We need real change, so I think I’m going to convert to republican this year and give them 4 years to run the country and possibly change DC government in the process. If the Mayor and city officials can’t even run a fair and competent government, and continue with business as usual, how in the world do they think Home Rule will ever be realized.
Concern citizen, to whom this may concern….I am a District of Columbia resident , that would like to express deep concerns in reference to how the office of unified communications 911 center is being managed! In the past few years there have been multiple life threatening incidents , some that have resulted in death! Which could have possibly been avoided. Apon disclosed investigations , RESULTS! FAULT! and BLAME! have always been placed on the hardworking employees that call take/dispatch at this center. I question and challenge Mayor Bower , city officials , police and fire officials ! To take a look at MANAGEMENT! And stop punishing the employees at this center , to cover up there FAULTS! I would like to know ….. Does this agency have POLICY and PROCEDURE? Does this agency have training staff? Do the agency give adequate lunch breaks that are conducive to the long hours the employees work? What type of counsel is in place for employees that deal with the magnitude of stress that dispatchers take on in a work
Day? What accommodations/ recognition is given to the employees for the hard work they do that the citizens never see? I have heard about the man agent at this agency and it’s gut wrenching to know that a operations manager that has come up the ladder by any means nessacary , would forget and treat employees in such a dismanner , to the point that there is no MORAL! what drive would people have to come here? Start this year out with a new director , I hope that by all parties involved it is seen that management is cleaned OUT! Stop penalizing people that are hardworking far more deserving of recognition that they DONT ! get for what they do! Thank you !
Wow…
Ok,let me pick up where I left off from. Ms.Greene had no clue what was going on because she had Stephen Williams which is no longer there who was the CAD guy and promoted all the way to Chief of Operations who walked around clueless all day and everyday doing absolutely nothing. Stephen and Ingrid created a bad habit of violating employees disability rights as well as My.Manus, which is one of the human resources go to person. So many positions have been created over the years and wasn’t posted because upper management thought no one else qualify. PIO officer… REALLY that was just to keep her a job because she was Janice Quintana assistant because prior til we didn’t have one. Ingrid Bucksell she is the operations manager and I have no clue why when she use to once call myself in her office asking how to announce 2nd, 3rd alarms, how to announce special alarms etc. Ms.Bucksell is very spiteful, vindictive, rude and very disrespectful. As a operation manager its so unprofessional approaching your employees did they something about you. It’s very unfair to have someone to do their 12.5 shift then hold then over for 4 more but if the fire supervisor doesn’t come in one currently on duty get to home. Ms.Bucksell treat people according to how she feel about, if something happened between herself and someone else, talk to people like they are kids, take disciplinary actions against people that doesn’t deserve it, She claps when her supervisors write someone up that she force them to write up and if it wasn’t what Ingrid Bucksell wanted it to say she made them change it to What she wanted it to say. It’s so many made up positions upstairs its said and a waste of money starting with Jazel Richards knows nothing about public safety,McManus was moved up stairs from 311where she needs to go and Ingrid needs to be walked out for good . She walks around talking about ppl those that walk in and her door. I ask her why didn’t they fill 2 of the leads spot she told me so make up her salary. The OUC needs a training decision not someone there will be a conflict of interest.
The Office of Unified Communications continues to change Directors, terminate the hardworking 911 Dispatchers and Calltakers and keep upper level management employees in place who make over $100,000 doing nothing. There are more televisions in the operations center than they’re employees most days you’re lucky if they’re ten people working to answer 911 calls alone for the city. Whenever the Mayor or City Council makes an announced visit OUC upper management simply arrange for unlimited overtime. Also, whenever a member of the City Council wants to observe an employee working the Operations Manager will personally handpick the employee to be monitored with instructions not to tell the City Council member anything negative or derogatory about the agency. The OUC advertised a position on the D.C. Government Human Resource website, which stipulated a mandatory Bachelor’s Degree and education cannot be used in lieu of experience to fulfill the Operation Manager vacancy. However the current Operations Manager received the position with only a high school diploma, this is not a rumor but a fact easily proven. I agree with everyone else if the new Director does not come in and clean house at the top, then it will be business as usual at the OUC. Change needs to start at the top the new Director will only be set up failure if she keeps her immediate upper managment staff they will continue to be conniving, manipulative, and will work against her, the agency, and D.C. Government. All you have to look at the history. The Director changes with every new Mayoral election, and yet the OUC continues to have issues and it’s because of the management in place. If change is going to truly occur at the OUC than a cleansing must occur if not then history will continue to repeat itself and be broadcast on Fox 5.
Unless the new director puts a stick of dynamite in that place and blasts all the crap out of there from top to bottom, it’s like painting rotten wood…it’ll look pretty on the outside but it’s still crap.
I will attest to those statement. I have heard of their uneducated supervisor who have been socially promoted based on the “click”. I believe 911 will never be rescued until someone has compassion for the employees and a passion to assist the citizen. Successful agency take care their employees and their employees take care of them.
If you have poor leadership then you have poor employees. Always remember what’s on will drip drip down to the bottom. DC 911 is the HEART BEAT of DC whether those employees who do the work get credit for what they do. The agency need SAVIOR!!!
Speaking as a former employee and haven’t even been gone one year yer I have seen a lot. Heads need to roll starting with some of the supervisors. There are a few good ones such as Marlyne. Renee, Laquan and Calvin. The ones not mention seriously needs to start over as a call taker. The operation manager head should have rolled years ago for several reasons such as promoting the last fire lead dispatcher who is a very close friends with the operations manager. As a lead dispatcher a test was never given however the operation took it upon herself to give a test and answers was given to this close friend of hers. The operation manager have always been and always be the agency down fall. Its nothing the selected training officers can teach me. I can come sit down and pick up whete I left off at. The operation manager have people over her thinking she’s the only one qualify for her position but that’s mot true. Did I want to leave no I didn’t but I had no choice because the I couldn’t take being mistreated,