New director to take helm of 911 center
A new director of Flathead County’s consolidated 911 center will start work on Monday.
Elizabeth Brooks has been tapped for the job.
Brooks is moving to Kalispell from Williamsport, Ind., where she has more than a decade of experience working both as a dispatcher and as a 911 center director, said Mike Shepard, who represents the Columbia Falls City Council on the 911 center administrative board.
The hiring process for a new director has been going on since May. Initially skeptical about the applicants for the job, Shepard said he is more than satisfied with how things turned out and the decision to hire Brooks.
“She understands interactions with various groups, the reporting requirements, she has been very instrumental in reducing overtime, and as you know that is one of our problems. And she is from Missoula, born and raised. So local girl coming back home, basically,” Shepard said. “I was vocal about not being impressed with the applications, but once we really got down and did some interviewing I was much more comfortable than I anticipated. I’m tickled we got a good gal that understands totally the ins and outs of 911.”
Brooks replaces former director Roger LaFerriere who resigned earlier this year after six months on the job. She will be the consolidated 911 center’s fourth director since it opened just a few years ago. She could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said Brooks should bring the right mix of experience and enthusiasm to the job.
“She has experience managing a 911 center that is a combined center much like this one. So even though she’s from a smaller populated area in the Midwest, the center she manages works with multiple jurisdictions and political entities including two counties. So she brings to the table that experience in dealing with all these political subdivisions and bringing people together to try to move forward,” Curry said.
“We’re pleased to have her on board and excited to have her start next week.”
Helping bring people together and mend relations among Flathead County, Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish likely will be one of Brooks’ first tasks on the job.
Members of the 911 center administrative board scheduled a special work session for Wednesday, Aug. 28, to try to work through a two-page list of concerns about the 911 center and how it is run that Mayor Tammi Fisher and other members of the Kalispell City Council have submitted.
In that letter they question the amount of information about 911 center meetings and finances that is made available online, the 911 center budget approval process, the unusual even number of six administrative board representatives, the board’s afternoon meeting times, operational oversight and the status of a long-term funding plan for the 911 center.
Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.