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911 supervisor urges hiring another telecommunicator to curb overtime costs; some municipalities may be underpaying dispatch fees
Summary
The county's 911 supervisor told the finance committee that persistent overtime and comp time pressures justify adding a new telecommunicator; the committee discussed costs and whether some small municipalities are not paying dispatch or EMS fees that support routine patrols.
Iroquois County's telecommunicator supervisor reported ongoing staffing shortages and high overtime that the supervisor said could be reduced by hiring an additional full-time telecommunicator.
Why it matters: the county is budgeting overtime for the 911 center; hiring an additional full-time telecommunicator would shift some overtime into salary-and-benefits costs but could reduce uncontrolled comp-time and overtime expenses.
Key points from the report: - Overtime and hours: the supervisor showed historical overtime and total hours above a full-time equivalent (2,080 hours) and said overtime totals for the year are trending high. The supervisor said the budget includes $90,000 for overtime and reported that to date about $38,000 has been spent. - Cost of a new hire: staff provided an estimate that a telecommunicator at $20.20 per hour would earn $42,016 annually (at 2,080 hours); total first-year fully burdened cost including insurance and payroll taxes was estimated at roughly $46,575. - Operational impacts: the supervisor said adding one telecommunicator would not fully eliminate overtime but would reduce episodes of double coverage, improve schedule stability and reduce the comp-time accumulation that has been growing under the current telecommunicator contract. - Timeline: the supervisor proposed interviews in July, an August start date and an eight-week training period, with the new hire fully on duty by about October if the committee approves recruitment. - Dispatch fees and municipal payments: the supervisor and committee members discussed towns and fire/EMS districts that currently do not pay dispatch/contract fees for routine patrols. The supervisor said emergency 911 calls will still be answered even if a municipality is not current on payments, but nonpayment means the county may not provide routine patrols and regular checks previously funded by contracts.
Committee direction: members asked staff to consider the overtime-versus-hire cost comparison and to bring back a recommendation; the committee did not approve a hire or a budget amendment at this meeting.
