Officials outline staffing strain at Joplin 9-1-1 dispatch and propose school certification, apprenticeships

City staff and public-safety leaders told the Joplin City Council Monday that the city’s 9-1-1 dispatch center faces persistent staffing shortages, heavy workloads and pay-compression that make recruiting and retaining qualified dispatchers difficult.

Michelle Dupree, who led the briefing with Captain Duncan, said the dispatch center provides 24/7 emergency dispatch for Joplin Police and Fire, Duquesne Police, Joplin Animal Control and Missouri Southern State University and described a very large volume of calls processed by the center in recent years.

Dupree said hiring and turnover trends show staffing pressure: she reported 88 applicants in 2023 and said the city has seen more than 60 applicants so far in 2025, but noted the center cannot hire everyone who applies because candidates must meet background and interview qualifications.

Dupree warned of the training cost and capacity challenge, telling the council that the city estimates it takes about $86,000 in resources and staffing to train one dispatcher. “It takes on average about 86,000 in resources and staffing to train 1 person for dispatching,” she said, and added that short tenures make it hard to recoup that investment.

Captain Duncan described current workload and pay issues that complicate hiring. He told the council that, after running the numbers in August, year-to-date call totals included roughly 24,091 9-1-1 calls and about 59,000 regular phone calls. Duncan said the dispatch manager, Cheryl Konarski, a salaried employee, has been working far beyond expected hours — he reported she was averaging about 143.33 hours over a two-week pay period — and that several staff have taken multiple years of heavy overtime.

Duncan highlighted pay-compression problems that make bringing in experienced laterals difficult without moving current employees past their pay-step. He gave examples in which candidates’ prior pay exceeded what the city could offer: one candidate previously made $21.50 an hour and was offered $20.27; another candidate earning about $29.29 at a nearby agency was being offered $22.37 by Joplin, which Duncan said led candidates to decline offers.

To address vacancies, Dupree and Duncan proposed a mix of short- and long-term actions: pursuing a high-school dispatcher certification program (Dupree said the Joplin High School principal is supportive), exploring apprenticeship opportunities with the state, expanding part-time and flexible scheduling to improve work–life balance, piloting nonemergency call-takers to reduce pressure on dispatch consoles, and increasing recruitment outreach through ads, job fairs and partnerships with community organizations.

“How awesome would it be to graduate from high school certified to be a dispatcher?” Dupree asked as she described the proposed certification pathway.

Council members asked practical questions about shift structures and pay. Council Member Carlin suggested returning to three 8-hour shifts; Duncan said the center had used 8-hour shifts 6–9 years ago but staffing shortages led to 12-hour schedules and that the city could consider returning to 8-hour shifts if staffing levels improve. The City Manager told council that the upcoming budget includes a funded step increase in COLA and that a sales-tax renewal would be the next significant opportunity to address pay in dispatch.

No vote or formal action was taken during the informal session; staff said they will continue recruitment and outreach work and will report back as proposals are refined.

The briefing gave council members a clearer picture of both operational strain in the dispatch center and the mix of programmatic and budget steps the city may pursue to stabilize staffing.