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Carroll County communications center reports staffing strain, difficulty filling dispatcher vacancies
Summary
The county communications center told supervisors it had difficulty recruiting certified dispatchers, experienced prolonged vacancies and increased overtime; staff said used dispatch consoles were acquired to reduce future capital costs and asked for comparators on dispatcher pay.
The Carroll County communications center briefed the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 27 about staffing, training and equipment needs after a period in 2024 when the center ran short-handed.
Management said the center experienced an extended vacancy and a long maternity leave during the same six-month period, and that recruiting certified dispatchers from neighboring jurisdictions proved difficult. A newly hired dispatcher completed training in late December and is now on duty. The center said training for new dispatchers takes roughly three months of on-the-job mentoring in addition to required specialty certifications.
The comm center noted a high level of longevity among current dispatchers—most have ten or more years’ experience—which raises vacation accrual and creates overtime needs when staff use leave. The center asked supervisors to consider competitive pay to help recruitment and retention; board members requested a new comparators analysis that measures pay against similarly sized centers and counties.
On equipment, staff reported they were able to acquire three used dispatch consoles (one more than current footprint allows) at substantial savings compared with new units, and they plan modest electrical work to reconfigure power and receptacles for the new consoles. The center said total recurring data and radio costs (including state NCIC/driver’s-license database access) remain a baseline fixed expense.
Staff also described a recent mutual-aid deployment assisting Clay County during an emergency and said the experience validated the county’s continuity-of-operations plans and backup CAD capability.
Supervisors asked for an updated salary/comparator analysis and thanked the comm center for work during the Clay County event. No changes to funding levels were adopted at the session; supervisors said they would consider pay competitiveness in the county-wide budget process.
