'911, what's your emergency?': If you can handle stress of that call, York County wants you
York County 911 is holding a recruitment drive Saturday, May 14, to fill vacant call-taker and dispatch positions.
According to a flier sent by the York County Department of Emergency Services, pay for 911 dispatchers begins at $17.04 an hour, and those working night shifts will get a $1 per hour increase. Dispatchers on weekend shifts receive a $1.50 per hour increase. For each training, or skillset, a dispatcher completes, they will receive a $1 an hour increase.
External affairs officer of the York County Office of Emergency Management Ted Czech said there will be four recruitment sessions, beginning at the top of the hour. During these sessions, applicants will get information about the job, tour the 911 facility and then take a pre-employment assessment.
Czech said the pre-employment assessment, which tests an applicant’s aptitude to learn the skills needed for the job, must be completed before applicants will be considered for employment.
Aside from the pay, Czech said being a 911 call-taker or dispatcher comes with several benefits, including medical and retirement.
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Czech acknowledged that working for emergency services can be a high-stress job and there are several assistance programs available to help 911 employees.
“As ways to alleviate/mitigate stress, dispatchers/call-takers have access to a quiet room for instant decompression on a bad call if they need some time to gather their thoughts. In addition to the employee assistance program (counseling), we have access to Crisis Incident Stress Management counselors for high stress events,” he said. “They are also taught numerous stress management techniques during the dispatch academy.”
In the past few years, the department has had a hard time with staffing shortages and employee turnover. Czech said part of that was due to the job not offering competitive wages, but a raise was implemented in October 2021.
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At that time, there were 36 employees at the 911 call center. Cech said they have 66 budgeted positions. In October, he said that 30 more employees had been hired and would be starting soon, however they still need 15 more employees to be at full staff.
Call-takers and dispatchers work 12-hour shifts, two days in a row, with the next two days off. With a supplemental day, employees work a shift on what would be their third day off for that week, but the need for supplemental days should go away when new hires begin taking calls, Czech said.
“It takes a special person to do this job. You have to have a desire to better your community and help people,” he said. “This is a career, a calling. And it can be very fulfilling for the right people.”
In addition to staffing woes, a former employee at the center last month filed a lawsuit against the county, alleging that she faced discrimination and retaliation on the job from a supervisor before being wrongfully terminated.
It is the county's policy not to comment on ongoing litigation, Czech said in April.
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Recruitment will be held at the 911 call center at 120 Davies Dr., York. You must have a high school diploma or GED to apply.
For more information, call Rob Morgan at 717-840-2908 or email him at RLMorgan@ycdes.org.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: York County 911 offers higher wages to lure emergency dispatchers
