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Tompkins County Administrator Joe Mareane announced Wednesday that former Ithaca Fire Department Chief Brian Wilbur has accepted an interim appointment to manage Tompkins County’s 911 Dispatch Center.  Wilbur succeeds Communication Center Manager Lin Hurd, who retired after seven years of service with the County as of March 15.  Chief Wilbur will serve in the position until a Civil Service test is issued and a permanent manager selected, a process expected to take as long as one year.

“I can’t think of anyone more qualified or respected among emergency services and law enforcement professionals than Chief Wilbur,” said Mareane.  “He is the right person to lead us through this transition.”

Wilbur served more than two decades with the Ithaca Fire Department, as Chief of the Department from 1993 until his retirement in 2009.  He spent his entire career of more than 40 years in public safety positions, including many years when he chaired the County’s E-911 Committee and its successor, the Emergency Communications Review and Oversight Committee.

“Brian Wilbur has a unique combination of managerial skills, operational experience, and familiarity with the County’s dispatch system that will allow him to contribute immediately to the quality of our system,” said County Emergency Response Director Lee Shurtleff.  “He was one of the architects of the County’s interoperable communications system and can step right into a job that uses that 21st Century technology to ensure a rapid response to emergencies that arise.”

As interim Communications Manager, Wilbur will supervise a staff of 21 Dispatchers and Supervisors who process over 50,000 responses, generated through more than 175,000 emergency calls and alarms each year.

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