Cooperstown News Bureau

COOPERSTOWN - Last week, the county board opted not to hire two temporary emergency 911 dispatchers, but the issue may not be resolved.

The 7-6 vote came as the county board struggles to pare a budget that seems likely to require a tax levy increase of more than 10 percent. In an effort to contain costs, the board has instituted a hiring freeze.

However, dispatchers can take months to train and the county would be well-advised to keep several temporary hires on its call list, according to James Tallman, the county's chief dispatcher.

The temporary hires are called in when full-time workers are not available.

"It usually takes four-to-six months of training before we're comfortable someone can do the job," Tallman said. "What we're worried about now is if we can't hire people, we won't have them trained when we need them."

The county Communications Department has 11 full-time dispatchers and four temporary ones. With this crew, the county usually is able to keep three on the day shift, two-to-three on the evening shift and two on the night shift, Tallman said.

"That's about what other departments our size are doing," he said.

The temporary hires do not receive county benefits, which means they may be tempted to seek employment elsewhere, Tallman said. That also means they don't cost the county as much as full-time workers, he said.

Full-time dispatchers are paid $23,045 to $26,906. Temporary workers are paid $11.04 an hour, according to Nancy Morton, the county's personnel officer.

Sheriff Donald Mundy said the county board should not short public safety in its efforts to keep taxes from rising. Lyle Jones Jr., the county's emergency services coordinator, echoed this sentiment.

"The dispatchers are important to every citizen in the county, to every visitor in the county, and we have to keep good people in those positions," Jones said.

The county may be about to lose one full-time dispatcher and should have a replacement trained and ready to take over, he said.

Since the county instituted the emergency 911 telephone system, county dispatchers have received many more calls and the job has become more stressful, he said. Tallman said that with more cellular telephones, it's not uncommon for dispatchers to handle five or more calls related to the same incident.

"If it's an accident on I-88, we might get 10 calls, and we have to treat every one as a separate incident until we know it isn't," he said.

Among those who voted for hiring more temporary dispatchers was Rep. Donald Lindberg, R-Worcester, who said he believes that even in a tight budget year, the board must take care of public safety.

Among those who voted against the hiring was Rep. James Powers, R-Butternuts, who said he believes the request should have been reviewed by the Public Safety Committee before coming for a vote.

Board Chairman Carl Higgins said no one on county board wants to compromise public safety, but that with each request, the board must consider the burden it is asking taxpayers to carry.

"This vote did not change the number of full-time dispatchers we have," Higgins noted, saying the matter could be reviewed further by the Public Safety Committee.

Also last week, the county board voted not to hire a fire inspector, a position in the Codes Department. That person inspects places of public assembly, including schools, to make sure they are safe. The county's Code Enforcer David West said Monday the service is mandated by the state and he cannot do the job adequately without more help.