When you call 911, every second counts. But Indianapolis is lagging the national standards for call response times.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency, which manages the city’s 911 call center, released an internal staffing study in April. Agencies are supposed to answer 90% of 911 calls within 15 seconds and 95% of calls within 20 seconds. Last year, about 20% of calls in Indianapolis did not meet this national safety standard.
It’s a problem emergency communications officials brought up during the city’s 2026 budget hearings. They asked for funding to cover 15 new staff positions. The goal, emergency services Chief Tom Sellas said, is to hire at least 30 new call takers by 2027.
“There isn’t another place in Indiana that takes the number of calls or runs that we do,” Sellas told Mirror Indy. “We’re trying to cut down the time it takes to answer.”
Between July 2026 and September 2026, the Indianapolis center fielded more than 661,000 calls. The average response time was 16 seconds.
Workers must gather information from callers and route the run to the correct first responders. That can be police, the fire department or emergency medical services. Indianapolis callers can also be forwarded to mental health response teams and nurses. Research shows every minute during a medical emergency counts — and delays can be the difference between life and death.
Sellas said adding staffers will improve the city’s 911 response times. The City-County Council passed a budget with money for the additional positions. But one council member thinks more should be done.
“I don’t think the 15 additional staff is enough,” said Jesse Brown, a Democrat who represents portions of the east side. “They’re acting like this tiny fix will handle it, and it just won’t.”
Brown proposes pulling money from police budget
Brown said he’s heard from constituents who experienced delayed 911 responses or reconsidered whether to call at all. That’s why he proposed an amendment to the city’s budget.
It would have redirected about $26 million from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to housing assistance and other public safety programs. The proposal included giving millions to emergency services so the agency could hire and retain more 911 call takers.
“We take them for granted,” Brown told Mirror Indy. “We assume they’ll be able to pick up the phone.”
Sellas, the emergency services chief, declined to answer questions about Brown’s concerns or the amendment, which did not receive a vote Oct. 19 from the City-County Council.
“I do not comment on what our elected officials say,” Sellas wrote in an email to Mirror Indy. “Councilor Brown has more in-depth knowledge of the city budget as a whole than I do. I am focused on my responsibilities and the work processes I am required to follow.”
The amendment is part of larger criticisms of police funding and Mayor Joe Hogsett’s budget decisions. Despite having vacant officer positions, IMPD’s $400 million budget passed — representing an 11.5% funding increase for the department. At the same time, programs for food access, ankle monitors and eviction legal help were cut.
Brown described police as being “overfunded” — and said that other city agencies are suffering because of the mayor’s spending priorities. Hogsett is also a Democrat.
“Dispatch agents don’t have the same kind of political pull police do,” Brown said. “Money exists. It’s entirely political about where it got deployed.”
A spokesperson for Hogsett’s office said Brown’s amendment was “not based in reality.” They pointed to a labor agreement signed by the city and the police union, which requires funding for thousands of officer positions through 2028. Brown has criticized this agreement. “It was made behind closed doors without informing council leadership,” he told Mirror Indy.
The mayor’s office also said the city’s budget will cover the 30 new positions for the 911 call center and give yearly raises to workers under a bargaining agreement. That includes an average raise of 13.5% in 2026, and a 4% raise in 2027.
“If (emergency services) exceeds its anticipated hiring for 2027 and more funding is required, this administration is fully prepared and ready to provide those funds,” a spokesperson for the mayor said in an Oct. 28 email. “This administration has a strong record of ensuring our public safety professionals have the tools they need to serve our community.”
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Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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