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Emergency services seeks EMS division chief, 9‑1‑1 pay bump; Pittsville tower replacement estimated at $1.05M
Summary
Emergency Services requested a new chief of EMS division position to coordinate next steps after a SWOT analysis, asked for $3,000 flat increases for 9‑1‑1 specialists, and described a Pittsville tower replacement estimated at roughly $1,050,000 for county equipment.
Emergency Services Director Lorenzo Cropper and Deputy Chris Hopkins told the council the department is proposing a new EMS division chief to coordinate county‑wide EMS planning and that the department requested flat dollar increases for 9‑1‑1 specialists.
Cropper said the FY26 request includes a new chief EMS division position budgeted at midpoint; the role would create a fourth division under Emergency Services dedicated to EMS coordination and feasibility work following the department’s SWOT analysis. “This would be the next step is putting in a coordinator and really having that person almost do like a feasibility… kind of analyzing the county as a whole,” Cropper said.
Cropper and Hopkins said the department asked for $3,000 per 9‑1‑1 specialist (loaded in the budget as a full July increase rather than a split increase) because pay compression and training burdens made the department “one of the lowest paid all around.” Hopkins said training a specialist can take nearly two years and turnover would require repeats of that training.
On capital, Cropper said an estimate of approximately $1,050,000 covers the county’s share to replace the building and equipment at the Pittsville tower site; the county’s tower location is on state property and is used by multiple agencies. Cropper said Motorola provided current estimates for replacing the county’s equipment and that the state has verbally indicated interest in partnering to combine buildings, which could change total costs and the county share.
Why it matters: EMS coordination, 9‑1‑1 pay and radio infrastructure affect emergency response capacity and continuity of operations. The Pittsville tower is the oldest of the county’s towers and requires replacement or major refresh according to emergency‑services staff.
Follow up: Emergency Services will provide job description and organizational chart for the proposed EMS chief role and more detailed cost estimates for tower work in CIP discussions.
