Due to a Luzerne County 911 staffing shortage crisis, the department’s managers and supervisors are now assisting with emergency call-taking and dispatch, officials said.
More than half of the telecommunicator positions — 34 of 64 — are currently vacant, county 911 Executive Director Fred Rosencrans said Wednesday.
Of the 30 filled positions, only 25 telecommunicators can currently process calls because five are still in training, he said.
In the last month, the 911 center lost three experienced telecommunicators, including a 25-year and 23-year employee.
“The bottom line is I’m losing them faster than I can get them in the door right now, and I’ve got to stop the bleeding,” Rosencrans said.
He has exhaustively advertised the openings through the radio, television, newspapers and social media and currently has five or six billboards around the county highlighting the openings.
In a union contract county council approved last year, the starting salary for telecommunicator trainees increased from $32,900 ($15.81/hour) to $37,500 ($18/hour). The position is posted at luzernecounty.org.
But until more positions are filled, Rosencrans said he has been forced to impose mandated overtime that is “literally burning my staff out” and has become the main cause workers are leaving at an “astronomical rate.”
“It’s not about the money. They want a work-life balance and to go home at a normal time,” he said.
Telecommunicators have eight-hour shifts, and he said 16-hour work days have become “the norm the last several months.”
He has some telecommunicators coming in on days off and working every day of the week to ensure emergency calls are answered.
It’s not uncommon for some employees to work 80 hours per week instead of the normal 40, he said.
The temporary deployment of supervisors and managers to handle call-taking and dispatching is an attempt to reduce daily involuntary mandated overtime, he said.
Supervisors/managers required to assist will receive an additional stipend that will be covered by state 911 funding, which means it won’t impact the county’s general fund operating budget, the administration said.
For now, the assistance of supervisors and managers in handling calls is providing some breathing room, he said, noting he was able to send two telecommunicators home on time Wednesday morning instead of making them stay for a double shift.
“Fortunately I’m able to use that lifeline right now until I can get staff in and trained,” he said.
Rosencrans also issued a public solicitation seeking proposals from entities interested in supplying temporary contracted personnel to assist with emergency call-taking, dispatch and quality assurance. Responses are due March 21.
He stressed the solicitation will determine if there are any outside entities that would provide such a service. If there are responses, the administration would have to work with AFSCME, the union representing telecommunicators, to determine if an agreement can be reached allowing the use of contracted workers. The county would not enter into such a contract without full consent from the union to ensure the collective bargaining agreement is followed, he said.
Rosencrans said planning for such a contract, if available, could take months, and he wants to proactively prepare as a last resort in case the staffing situation does not improve.
He is working on more long-term solutions —Rosencrans declined to discuss specifics at this time —that he is confident would address recruitment and retention challenges. To succeed, council, the administration and union will have to work together, he said.
Telecommunicator shortages are a problem in many counties throughout the state, he said.
“It’s serious enough that the governor addressed it in his budget speech,” he said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro is seeking an increase in the 911 phone fee and annual cost-of-living fee adjustments that would make tens of millions of dollars more available for 911 systems annually, he said.
The monthly fee is currently $1.65 per device, he said.
Luzerne County’s 911 is one of the top 15 busiest of the 62 countywide dispatch centers in the state, he said. It processes an average 430,000 emergency and non-emergency calls annually and provides dispatch services to 175 police, fire and emergency medical service agencies.