ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- The city of Elizabethtown is hiring to fill a new 911 dispatch position in order to keep up with the increase in call volume over the past couple years.
The 911 Dispatch Center started tracking its incoming and outgoing calls in 2017. The city is averaging well over 30,000 calls each year, but that doesn’t include the thousands of phone calls that are simply informational and not emergency or police-related. The department’s supervisor said each dispatcher can take upward of 100 calls on a busy day.
“Our job is to serve this community and provide them with excellent police service,” Officer John Thomas said. “Dispatchers are an absolutely vital part of us providing that service. We want to be a department that’s responsive to calls. When people call in, we want them to know that you can get ahold of a person.”
The city’s dispatch center is responsible for taking any calls involving the city’s police department. There are currently eight dispatchers, but to keep up with the demand, the city approved creating a ninth dispatch position. So the department is now taking applications.
“You’ll be answering the phone taking 911 emergency calls,” Thomas said. “Taking more routine question and answer the type of calls that sometimes people call in with. You’ll be running things for officers, providing them with the information they need to do their job out on the streets. So it’s a very busy position.”
Thomas said they are looking for someone with excellent communication and multi-tasking skills. It will also be beneficial for applicants to have computer skills and know how to prioritize while staying calm in stressful situations.
“And as always, at a police department, we’re looking for people of very high integrity,” he added.
Currently, dispatchers work 10-hour shifts of four days on, three days off. But the dispatch center’s supervisor Darrell Brangers said they are moving to a platoon schedule to match the police officers. That way, everyone will be able to rotate and get a long weekend. Right now, he said there are some dispatchers who have worked more than five years and never had weekend off.
Brangers, who is coming up on his 39th anniversary with the department, said it is important to care for the well-being of the current dispatchers by adding another position to help.
“When I started as a dispatcher, it was fun,” he said. “Now, it’s a job. I have so much respect for these people because of the stressful job they do.”
The deadline to apply is March 28 at 4 p.m. The written test will be March 29. Applicants who pass the test will then go through a hiring process, which includes an interview and background check. The department hopes to have the new dispatcher hired within two months. Thomas emphasized it is not a requirement to have any previous experience.
“As long as you have good communication skills, good computer skills, and you’re a person of high integrity, we will teach you all the rest,” Thomas said.
The new hire will then attend a five-week, state-required training academy in order to become a certified dispatcher. After that, the person will then train with current dispatchers for 12 weeks before being released to handle calls alone.
The starting pay for the position is $14.50 per hour and includes benefits. The department could be willing to offer a higher pay rate for anyone who is already certified.
To submit an application, click here.
Copyright 2019 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
