Pennington County approves 'telecom specialist' role to reduce dispatch workload; AI demo remains under review

Pennington County commissioners approved a new telecom specialist position for the Emergency Services Communication Center at the June 3 meeting to separate business-line calls and lower-level data work from radio dispatch duties.

Kevin Carley, director of the communication center, told the board the center handled about 270,000 incoming phone calls in 2024, 64,000 of which were 911 calls, and the center processed more than 282,000 calls for service — a roughly 20% increase in five years. "Part of our workload is dealing with those phone lines that come in," Carley said, explaining that dispatchers are often managing both radio traffic and business-line calls simultaneously.

Carley said the telecom specialist would handle business lines and lower-level data entry (for example, NCIC entries), and would not require 9-1-1 certification; that structure allows much shorter training time and a lower starting wage. HR presented the proposed classification with a suggested pay rating of S 2.2, step 1 at $21.10 per hour. The commission approved the position in a standard motion and vote.

Carley also described a demonstration of an AI system that transcribes calls and produces summaries and alerts (for example, identifying possible mental-health or suicidal calls). He said the county is not moving forward with a purchase until legal questions about whether the AI-generated transcript constitutes an official record are resolved with the state’s attorney’s office.

What the vote means: The new position is intended to reduce dispatcher burnout and overtime by shifting high-volume, lower-complexity phone handling to telecom specialists, enabling certified radio dispatchers to focus on urgent radio traffic and complex calls. Carley said the county hopes improved staffing and technology will reduce errors and speed call processing.