The dispatchers who staff Benton County’s 911 communications center are on the front lines of the county’s first responders: If they can’t handle emergency calls in a timely fashion, it means dangerous delays in getting law officers, firefighters or paramedics to a scene.
County voters in the Nov. 5 election face a proposal to create a 911 emergency dispatch service district for most of the county, to be paid for by an increase in property taxes. The measure authorizes a rate of 65 cents per every $1,000 of assessed value, but officials have said they’ll start the district at 45 cents. At the 45-cent rate, the owner of a $350,000 home would pay an additional $157.56 each year in taxes.
The money raised, about $3.7 million a year, would pay for additional dispatchers to meet the growing call volume; some of the money would go into a reserve fund for equipment upgrades.
