Logan City urges Hyde Park support for modest 9‑1‑1 dispatch fee increase to retain staff

Logan City Police Chief Jeff Simmons asked the Hyde Park City Council to express support for a proposed amendment to the regional 9‑1‑1 dispatch service fee that would raise the current $3.00 per residence per month charge to $3.71 over five years. Simmons said the increase would be used primarily to raise dispatcher pay and reduce staff turnover at the Cache County‑wide dispatch center run by Logan City.

The request matters because the dispatch center operates 24/7 for multiple law‑enforcement and fire agencies in the valley and officials say it is understaffed. Chief Simmons told the council he and dispatch leadership currently have about 14 full‑time dispatchers, two trainees and four vacancies; the center is staffed at roughly the same level it had in 2011 even though total calls-for-service countywide rose from about 39,000 in 2011 to about 58,000 last year. He said the starting wage for Logan dispatchers is $22.85 per hour after a recent emergency raise, compared with neighboring centers that start at about $26–$27.50 per hour.

“We're not trying to make money,” Chief Jeff Simmons said. “We're just trying to get a little closer so that we can keep our folks.” He described dispatch work as highly technical and said training a competent dispatcher takes roughly four months.

Logan City presented a five‑year fee schedule the council was asked to support in principle: an increase of about $0.30 per household per month in year one (effective July 1) followed by annual increases of $0.10 per month for four additional years, bringing the residential fee to $3.71 per month at the end of the term. Simmons said the fee had not been raised in 23 years for general operations and that previous adjustments paid for radio and communications equipment purchases.

Council members asked detailed budget questions. Officials described an enterprise reserve of roughly $3 million that would cover about a year of operations if revenues stopped; they also said the center receives grant funding from the Utah Communications Authority (UCA) that cannot be used for wages, only for equipment, training and similar items. A council member noted that Cache County recently approved a 0.3% county sales tax increase to fund public safety and asked whether some county funds could be redirected to the dispatch center. Logan City staff said they would ask the county but did not promise a county contribution.

Simmons and other Logan staff said they would provide the council with a five‑year history of actuals and a more detailed budget line‑item breakdown on request. They also described operational details: the center's minimum staffing levels are four dispatchers in daytime and three in the evening, dispatchers currently work 12‑hour shifts with an additional six‑hour shift in the rotation, and the center dispatches for police, fire and some state agencies. Simmons and 9‑1‑1 staff invited council members to tour the dispatch center.

Next steps: council members agreed to compile questions for Logan staff and to place a public hearing on the council agenda at the next meeting so the fee could be formally considered. City staff said no public hearing had been scheduled for the current meeting and that a hearing would be required to adopt the fee change.