Wellsville Council OKs countywide 5-year 911 fee increase to shore up dispatch staffing

The Wellsville City Council voted to adopt a countywide five-year plan to raise the monthly dispatch fee charged to households, a move city and county officials said is intended primarily to shore up pay and staffing at the Cache County 9-1-1 dispatch center.

Christy Walker, the county 9-1-1 director, told the council the center is funded largely by fees carried on utility bills and cellular 9-1-1 charges and that the dispatch center has not adjusted its household fee in years. Walker said the center is funded for 20 full-time positions but currently has 14 full-time employees and one trainee, and that starting wages lag neighboring counties. "We're just not competitive with our wages," Walker said, urging an increase that would start July 1, 2025, with a one-time 30-cent raise (from $3.00 to $3.30) and then roughly 3% increases in each of the next four fiscal years, producing an approximate 71-cent rise over five years.

Walker said the additional revenue would be used mainly for wages to bring staffing closer to fully funded positions and to retain trained dispatchers. She described the dispatch center as an enterprise fund that covers its own operating costs and noted the center answers police, fire and medical calls countywide; it also provides nonemergency call-taking and dispatches for some agencies that pay annually for those services.

Council members asked about staffing levels, whether the center had lost staff to neighboring counties and what the center's minimum on-duty staffing is. Walker said the center's minimum staffing is two people per state law but that the center currently staffs three as a practical baseline and that recruitment and retention difficulties stem in part from wages. She also described benefits and training costs that raise the total per-employee cost above the hourly wage shown on payroll lines.

Council discussion ranged between support for the proposal and concern about adding fees at a time when the city recently raised water and garbage rates. One council member urged an educational public session before the budget hearing so residents understand reasons for the increase: "It's okay to say no, but you have to say no with that why," that member said.

County staff said the household fee would be uniform across Cache County; Walker noted cell-phone 9-1-1 fee changes are controlled by state legislation and that carriers will reduce the per-line charge under a separate legislative schedule. County staff also said grant funds can help operations but generally cannot be used for long-term wages.

After discussion, a council member moved to adopt the five-year plan as proposed; the motion was seconded and the council voted to approve the plan. The meeting record does not include a roll-call tally in the transcript excerpt. Council members and staff said the planned increases will be included in the city's upcoming fiscal-year budget process and that a countywide all-or-nothing approval by all municipalities is required for the assessed fee to take effect across the county.

Walker invited council members to tour the dispatch center and to speak with staff about staffing, technology and operations.

The fee change is scheduled to begin on the county fiscal year starting July 1, 2025, if implemented through each participating city's budget and interlocal agreements.