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Dispatch budget highlights staffing shortfalls; board debates whether to budget for full staffing or overtime
Summary
County dispatch supervisors told the advisory board that vacancies drove overtime in 2025; staff suggested budgeting for full staffing and lower overtime while the board considered leaving one position unfunded pending commission decision.
Grand County budget staff and dispatch leadership told the Budget Advisory Board on Sept. 12 that dispatch overtime in 2025 stemmed from vacancies and that the draft 2026 budget currently includes overtime to cover gaps.
“Yes. We had some overtime this year due to lack of staffing,” said a dispatch supervisor (Swenson), explaining why overtime appears in the draft. Board members noted a $22,000 negative balance in the overtime account this year that the draft attempts to resolve.
Board members debated two approaches: budget as if the unit were fully staffed with lower overtime, or budget based on current vacancy levels and plan to amend upward if under-staffing continues. One board member suggested reducing the proposed overtime line to $5,000 and amending later if necessary; that change was accepted as a planning option while staff said they would run historical staffing counts by year.
Dispatch reported staffing counts of between six and eight dispatchers for 2025 and 2026 under current conditions; 2024 staffing ranged from seven to nine. The department said its target staffing for the draft 2026 budget is nine dispatchers.
Board members also urged clearer revenue and expense line items tied to external partners. Dispatch said multiple outside agencies — the city of Moab, local fire departments and EMS, and the Bureau of Land Management — have historically contributed to dispatch costs but some, including the city of Moab, have not remitted payments in recent years.
Ending: Budget staff agreed to provide historical staffing counts and to refine the overtime and staffing assumptions before the next meeting so the board can recommend whether to budget for full staffing or assume continued vacancies.
