Brennan Bordonaro #5- Whats the story?

Whats the story behind the recent dispatch cuts? As simple as it seems, this question has fueled my group and I through the last few months with no cut and dry answer. We are now at the point where the story is vastly more clear than it was in the beginning.

As with most issues, there are two distinct sides, both with opposing viewpoints. This topic definitely has two sides and they certainly feel very different. The story of the cuts is relatively simple. Cuts had to be made to the state's budget and the dispatch centers were considered fair game. To some people such as Mr Flynn, the Commissioner for the Vermont Department of Public Safety, cutting of the four state Dispatch centers to two was one way of saving money. Mr Flynn and others in the state legislature weighed the projected cost savings of 1.7 million dollars and what they thought wouldn’t have an impact on the state. They decided to close two dispatch centers over the past summer. 
This decision sparked criticism from many people. Most of the people that opposed the cuts were people that worked or were involved in emergency services, This consisted of ambulance services and fire fighters both volunteer and professional. The other group of people that opposed the cuts are the Vermont State Employees Association or the VSEA. Although the two groups that opposed the cuts are both together in that they opposed them, the opposed them for slightly different reasons. The emergency services workers opposed them because it makes our job a bit more difficult when the dispatchers aren’t local. This is because locals know the areas that they live and do a better job and have more local knowledge than someone living 50 miles away. As well as cutting the number of dispatchers available they are trying to juggle a 7% increase in emergency calls each year. The VSEA agreed with the state's emergency services opposition to the cuts, but their major opposition came from the loss of jobs. Disatchers were laid off and not enough were hired to the remaining centers in return. The VSEA recognised that the local dispatchers that were covering their home towns and places that they are familiar with is incredibly important. This is what happened and how they happened.

The story behind the cuts is separate from what happened. This is because the closing of the centers has happened but no one has told the story yet. We are the ones telling the story. For a story to actually be a story it has to convey a message of some kind, to a specific and targeted audience. Figuring out who our intended audience is, has been one of the more difficult aspects of this project. The intended audience could be everyone who ever comes into the state and might ever need to call 911 for an emergency or it could be limited to the two opposing sides of the issue. Who we will make our intended audience is still undecided but I hope we can narrow it down during the retreat. The primary message we are trying to get across is that these cuts were made without taking into account the opinions and knowledge of the states emergency workers and it has backfired. With either audience as our target audience the change we are seeking remains the same. For one or both centers to be reopened, if that doesn’t work then more significant expansions to the remaining two centers.

For the structure of our film, I think It would be best to introduce the topic and the events of it before having to much footage from either side. For the majority of the film I think interchanging speakers on different sides of the issue would be a good way to keep things moving as well as interesting. A powerful ending is something I think we should have but i am unsure of how that would be accomplished right now.