Concerns about 911 callers being put on hold are getting a lot of attention from city leaders. Statistics from last year raised a lot of questions from the Public Safety Task Force.

The stats show 98% of 911 calls were answered in under 20 seconds. It is the remaining 2% that concerned the city.

Your home is on fire. You have been in a car crash. You pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1. Chances are you will get an answer right away. But according to APD, 18,000 people who called 911 last year were on hold for more than 21 seconds. That does not include "ring time."

The stats concerned and confused city leaders on the Public Safety Task Force Monday night.

“There is some significant response time issues. If we continue with the tens of thousands of calls that are on hold for more than 21 seconds, we’re not measuring response time till we answer the phone,” Councilmember Mike Martinez said.

Communications Manager Marcia Brooks explained that when phone lines jam up, a recording kicks in letting the caller know a dispatcher will answer momentarily. Dispatchers are given a visual indicator. The wait can be lengthy certain times of the year.

"On July 4th of this year, 2008, we had over 100 calls come into the cue in the 30 minute time period," Brooks said.

Brooks believes 911 response times are improving when compared to previous years. Task force members want her to come back next month to better define how that is measured.

“Call times are something we have to monitor very closely to make sure we're doing a good job because there are very few things that are more imp than prompt response to emergencies,” Councilmember Lee Leffingwell said.

“There's always room for improvement and we're always taking a look at how we can reduce that number," Brooks said.

The safety task force also wants more information about 911 callers who hang up. Four to 6% hang up on dispatchers every month, and no numbers are kept on people who hang up before their call is answered.