911 dispatchers rise above the challenges

The Daily Inter Lake recently published an article in reference to the Flathead 911 center (911 dispatchers struggle with burnout amid staff shortage, Jan. 15).

As the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3032 president and with the support of the other members, we wanted to respond to what was outlined in that article. It is still unclear if the sources of the article came from current or previous employees. It is clear that this article has done a disservice to us.

We want to have our voices heard in a unified and agreed upon way to show dispatch as it is for us right now. We acknowledge that the article was an attempt to help our situation. Unfortunately, it’s done the exact opposite.

When you walk into dispatch you will see eight stations. Each station has six screens, three mice, two keyboards and multiple speakers. There can be a lot happening on those screens at any given time, day or night. Some people in the community are unaware that in this one room we dispatch for Kalispell Police, Columbia Falls Police, Whitefish Police, and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office. We also page 20 fire departments and three ambulance agencies.

In addition to that we answer 911 calls and administrative calls for the whole county. Regarding that, huge thanks are due to the Kalispell Police records department. If it wasn’t for them answering their own non-emergency administrative calls we may have drowned months ago.

In order to keep law enforcement, fire/EMS responders, and the public safe we have four people on the floor 24/7. This is nonnegotiable. With limited staffing numbers, it is not surprising that we have to work overtime shifts.

The sources quoted in the article seem to have lost sight of the fact that being a dispatcher is not just a job; it’s a calling to public service. We will be on the other side of the phone or radio when people or responders need us the most. Always. We will not just shut the office down and leave you hanging when we hit 40 hours.

Yes, we need people, but unfortunately not everyone can do this work. The job is hard. It’s hard on all of us here still standing. Our families, significant others, kids and pets have all felt the sting of this job. It’s stressful. It can hurt. But it’s rewarding.

We talk to people during the worst moment of their life and get them the help they need. We walk spouses through CPR. We talk to parents when they can’t find their children, or when their child is choking. We run plates and people all while relaying critical safety information to our responders. The tasks required of our law, fire, medical dispatchers are endless.

Unfortunately, this article and its sources offered a lot of complaints and some unfounded stats. The biggest problem we are facing is staffing. To get more time off we need more dispatchers. How can we get more? Maybe a good place to start is providing a wage that adequately compensates this special niche of people?

At the beginning of last year we renegotiated our contract with the county commissioners and managed to persuade them that we needed to raise the wages to keep who we have and to entice more people to apply.

Since July 2022 we have had 76 people apply. Only eight of those people made it through all of the testing phases, did a two-hour sit along, passed a background check, interviewed and accepted job offers to start training. Most never returned calls or just didn’t show up. Since this article ran there has been two job offers resinded and two people scheduled for testing that didn’t show up or call back to reschedule.

We currently have 12 full-time dispatchers, 10 are fully trained along with our two part-timers. Our training coordinator has been on the floor working to help fill gaps in the schedule. We currently have two active trainees. We are still having issues with getting applicants and keeping the seasoned dispatchers we have. Despite everything, this is a great career and we have a great team. We just need more people to apply and reach the finish line.

The only way this will be resolved is with collaboration and working together to help get more individuals to apply for a profession that serves a purpose and makes a difference for our community while honoring and working at retaining our existing dedicated employees.

Shay Petersen is President of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3032 representing the Flathead Emergency Communications Center.