BROWN COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – Brown County 911 dispatchers say they’re overworked, understaffed, and that morale is low.
Several dispatchers showed up to the county board meeting on Wednesday night to voice their concerns about the current state of their job. Three of them spoke during the public comment section of the meeting.
“We’re exhausted, burned out, and stretched far too thin,” said Heather Patek.
“The negative impact is already being felt by every single Brown County safety employee, it’s also being felt by the public,” added Ashley Schaitel.
A Brown County source tells Local 5 News that they have 13 open dispatch positions right now. There are also several new hires who take about a year to train before they’re fully up to speed.
Current dispatchers say these staffing shortages force the more experienced employees to pick up the slack, leading to long hours, lots of overtime, and low morale. They also worry about the quality of their work.
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“We continue to cut corners in staffing, push people through training to the point where seasoned dispatchers are forced to make calls back to get additional information before feeling secure about sending emergency personnel into a scene,” said Schaitel.
Brown County officials said they’ve taken several steps to try to improve working conditions for their dispatchers. Since 2020, starting pay for a dispatcher has risen by over $5 an hour and currently stands at $24.60 per hour.
They’ve also recently hired six traveling dispatchers to temporarily cover some of the shifts as the county continues to try to hire full-time positions. Some dispatchers who spoke at the board meeting worry that dispatchers who don’t know the area well won’t be as effective at their job.
“Our current state is not only unsustainable but very concerning to the employees, the police, fire and rescue crews, and the citizens of Brown County,” Patek said.
Beginning next year, the county will also implement a new three-shift schedule for dispatchers that they say will “improve efficiency, address systemic dysfunctions, and enhance coverage and cross-training.”
A county source told Local 5 News they hired a consultant when coming up with the schedule and that dispatchers had a chance to see it and provide feedback before its implementation. The source said the new schedule is ‘industry standard.’
County officials said this schedule is designed to operate effectively without requiring 60 full-time telecommunicators.
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Dispatchers at the board meeting said it shuffles around the hours of experienced employees, one dispatcher saying he was taken aback when he found out he had to go back to the overnight shift. They also worry that shifting to a smaller staff isn’t the right move.
“If we can somehow work closer together, communicate better to come to better solutions to keep the well-trained and well-represented team that we have here,” said Brown County dispatcher Kirk Parker.
Several Brown County officials spoke with Local 5 News for this story, but none of them wanted to go on camera for an official interview.
For more information about Brown County 911, please click here.
As of early August, Brown County officials said their dispatchers have accumulated 8,614 hours of overtime.
