Shawnee Co. 911 Center to hire additional call takers

TOPEKA (KSNT) - In recent years, Shawnee County has faced a significant 911 dispatcher shortage. Now in addition to temporarily increasing pay, the county is hiring more support staff.

At the request of the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office, county commissioners voted Monday to approve adding four new call takers to Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center staff. With additional retention incentives approved earlier this month the total starting pay for the position is now $19.33 an hour.

"This is something that we did several years ago. We had three call takers and it has been very effective for us. However, with current staffing shortages and the overall evolution of the communications center, we're asking for four more," said Maj. Justin West. "So we will have seven total and this will lead to less stress on the call taker, more emphasis on the details of the calls that are coming in and better communication from the call taker to the dispatcher."

Call takers talk to people who call 911, helping calm down while getting relevant information to dispatchers.

"This is something we're trying to take action to get the 911 dispatch staffed up. And we see this as a, it seems to be an easier position to hire and train for than the actual dispatcher position, said Commissioner Aaron Mays. "And so in order to get some people in there in the door, we're going to do this. And hopefully these folks, they're successful and they'll promote up to the dispatch position eventually."

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