Cache County 9‑1‑1 director asks Wellsville to back five‑year increase in dispatch fee; council adopts plan

Christy Walker, Cache County 9‑1‑1 director, told the Wellsville City Council on March 19 that the county dispatch center is short five funded full‑time positions and struggling to recruit and retain dispatchers because local starting wages lag neighboring counties.

Walker said the dispatch center is funded for 20 full‑time positions but currently has 14 filled and one trainee. “We were successful in giving an emergency $2 raise to keep a couple of them from going over the mountain for that $7 difference,” Walker said, describing recent retention efforts. She told the council the center takes about 20,000 more calls annually than it did in 2011 while staffing has declined.

Walker proposed a countywide increase to the household dispatch fee that appears on utility bills: a one‑time increase from $3.00 to $3.30 beginning July 1, 2025 (a 30¢, roughly 10% change) and then approximately 3% annual increases for the following four years, amounting to about a 71¢ increase per household over five years. Walker said the added revenue would be dedicated primarily to wages and to restoring staffing toward the funded 20 positions.

Council members pressed Walker on details of staffing, costs and how the fee is applied. Walker said the dispatch enterprise fund pays for itself through utility 9‑1‑1 fees, cell‑phone 9‑1‑1 fees, and contracts with agencies such as Utah State University and the Utah Highway Patrol. She noted grant funding is available for some expenses but cannot reliably be used for ongoing wages. On wages, Walker said the starting dispatcher pay was $22.85 per hour at the time of the meeting and that perceived inequity with neighboring counties (Box Elder $27.50, Rich County $26, Franklin County $25) makes retention difficult.

A councilmember moved to adopt the five‑year plan, including the cumulative 71¢ increase over five years; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The council did not record a roll‑call tally in the public transcript; the chair declared the motion approved.

Council members also asked operational questions: state law sets a minimum of two dispatchers on duty at any time, Walker said, and the countywide fee must be adopted by participating cities and the county to be effective. On whether the cell‑phone portion of 9‑1‑1 fees would rise, a county or dispatch staff member responded that that rate is controlled by the state legislature and carriers, and that carriers are implementing a scheduled reduction of the carrier fee in the near term.

Next steps: the fee change will be included in the county budget process and is subject to the participating jurisdictions' review; Walker invited council members to tour the dispatch center to see operations and staffing demands in person.

Ending: The council approved the motion to adopt the dispatch center's five‑year funding plan by voice vote and thanked Walker and the dispatch staff for their presentation.