Choctaw County officials agree to work session after tense discussion of 9-1-1 funding and staffing

Choctaw County officials and the county’s EMS board agreed to meet for a work session after a lengthy joint meeting dominated by a shortfall in funding for the county 9-1-1 service and debate over staffing and training.

The meeting focused on a requested supplement that the 9-1-1 board said it expected after receiving a similar amount the prior year. ‘‘Our budget for 9-1-1 is around a little over $600,000 for this year,’’ the 9-1-1 presenter said, and added that the board had expected to receive $200,000 from the county as it had the prior year. ‘‘We only got 50 for this year. So those numbers ... are gonna be a hundred and 50 short,’’ the presenter said.

The shortfall has concrete operational consequences, the 9-1-1 staff and board members said. The service’s stated goal is to staff two dispatchers per shift; without the $200,000 level of county support the board said it cannot sustain that staffing plan. The 9-1-1 director described why two dispatchers matter in practice: ‘‘It’s not just the phone calls. It’s also an addressing system. They enter warrants, they do gun permits, they’re over…