County to hire 4 new dispatchers to handle 911 call volume

Four new Anoka County Central Communications dispatcher positions were unanimously approved the Anoka County Board July 23 in response to a spike in 911 calls this year.

According to Dee Guthman, deputy county administrator, dispatchers are dealing with a very high volume of calls right now, and more dispatchers are needed immediately to deal with them.

The county has not increased the central communications dispatcher staffing in at least four years, Guthman told the management committee..

In an interview, Guthman said call volumes through the end of June are 14,000 more than in the same period a year ago.

There are currently 36 dispatchers in the central communications department who work 12-hour shifts.

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Scott County to amend budget for radio project

The Scott County Board of Supervisors will vote Thursday on an amendment to the 2020 budget to reflect changes resulting from the radio infrastructure project’s bond issuance.

David Farmer, the county’s budget and administrative services director, told the board Tuesday the recommended amendment is to recognize the issuance of debt for the 911 radio infrastructure project as well as the use of bond proceeds to be paid out to reimburse Scott Emergency Communications Center, or SECC, for the project’s costs. The amendment also includes changes stemming from the refinancing of 2009 debt as part of the financing package.

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Hickory Club will urge council to keep dispatch at LPD

The Lockport police officers union is expected to urge the Common Council today to spend $272,000 to upgrade the police department’s radio equipment and keep dispatching in-house.

City leaders for weeks have discussed whether to let Lockport Police Department continue to handle its own dispatching or have LPD utilize Niagara County’s dispatch center. Should LPD join the county’s center, the city could either carve out a separate frequency for LPD or utilize a shared frequency, which is used by every law enforcement agency in the county except Niagara Falls Police Department.

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Emergency Communications Center members will 2.75 percent pay increases

Cost-of-living raises for 171 employees in three labor unions that will cost the city of Great Falls $480,676 over two years were approved Tuesday by the City Commission.

“We are set for another two years in our bargaining process here,” said Gaye McInerney, human resources director.

The two-year agreement calls for a 2.5 percent salary increase in the first year, and a 2.75 percent increase in the second year, for general members of the union. Emergency Communications Center members will 2.75 percent pay increases for each year of the contract. The salary increases to the city is about $170,366.

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Cole County launches interactive 911 program

JEFFERSON CITY – Residents of Cole County now have a way to provide more information to first responders before an emergency happens.

The app, Smart911, allows people to create a “safety profile,” so when they call 911 their information will be readily available to emergency services.

According to an April report from the Missouri Department of Public Safety, 70 percent of 911 calls are made from a cell phone. The report said counties often can’t locate calls made from cell phones because of the cost involved.

Bill Farr, the Emergency Management Director for Cole County, said this program will help those odds.

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