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Central dispatch reports growth, grant award and reorganizes training duties
Summary
Central dispatch told the council it handled more than 34,000 calls in 2024, received an $86,798 grant for portable radios and laptops, implemented frontline training software, and reclassified a training coordinator duty back to management after hiring an assistant director.
Central dispatch delivered its 2024 annual report and described an internal reorganization during the Jan. 14 council meeting.
Renee, Central Dispatch director, reported dispatch handled a total of 34,307 calls for service in 2024 (police, fire and EMS combined), and logged 13,075 9-1-1 calls received and 24,661 administrative calls. The office reported a 99% PSAP answer rate of under 10 seconds and noted that roughly 89% of 9-1-1 calls came from cell phones. Text-to-9-1-1 usage included 70 inbound texts and 1,044 texts initiated by dispatch.
Renee said the department used a county grant-writer to apply for federal/state funding and received an $86,798 grant to buy portable radios and two laptops intended to support field or backup operations if the primary dispatch center is unavailable. The department also purchased frontline public-safety software (training tracker, DOR tracker and QA tracker) to manage training, quality assurance and recordkeeping; the software helps meet training-hour requirements under Senate Bill 158.
On staffing, Renee said the assistant director, Chris Guajardo, now handles training operations and the frontline software, allowing the department to remove the separate "training coordinator" duty previously attached to a shift-supervisor position. The council later approved a transfer of $57,990.40 moving that salary back into the shift-supervisor line as part of a transfers package.
Renee said the department completed a facility remodel in 2024 and emphasized continuing recruitment and training; she reported three more hires were planned to reach 20 total dispatchers but noted the multi-month training pipeline.
The council acknowledged the report and approved the related transfer items.
