Montgomery, Ala., Officials Consider Building Central Dispatch Department.

Byline: Dave Hendrick

Aug. 2--City Communications Operator E.A. Davis spends the day shift in a 15-by-20-foot room with five or six other E-911 dispatchers, a bank of computer screens and two-way radio gear.

The room is cramped, people walk in and out, and the electronic equipment is outdated. The communications layout, city officials and communication department workers say, is inefficient and delays officer response times.

"Seconds save lives," said Davis, a 14-year veteran communications operator. "In a split second, a life can be saved."

She says she would be happy to see changes made to improve working conditions and provide more …