Saturday, October 31st, 2015
New rules mean new employees for sheriffs
By Jared Mauch
The Mercer and Auglaize county sheriff's offices must hire more dispatchers to meet new state standards.
All 911 call centers including the sheriff's offices in Mercer and Auglaize counties have until Jan. 1, 2018, to comply with new state standards, which include having at least two dispatchers on duty at all times.
"It's not something we'd like to do. It's something that has to be done," Auglaize County Sheriff Al Solomon said.
His office has eight full-time dispatchers after one was recently promoted from part-time status, Solomon said.
"We will have to hire more," he added, though he didn't say how many additional employees will be needed.
The Auglaize County .5 percent sales tax, 10-year extension on Tuesday's ballot is necessary to meet the new standards, Solomon said.
Some of the money raised from the sales tax would pay to hire more dispatchers, Solomon said.
The Mercer County Sheriff's office also must hire additional dispatchers, 911 administrator Monte Diegel said.
The office has eight dispatch employees but must hire two or three more to meet the new state standard, he said.
Neither official released a cost estimate for the new employees.
The Mercer County Sheriff's Office is sampling shift schedules to comply and has two dispatchers in the office on Friday and Saturday nights, Diegel said.
Call centers will also have to teach dispatchers additional emergency medical dispatch skills before the 2018 deadline. Officials in both departments are already working toward that goal.
Dispatchers will ask callers a series of questions and give further medical instruction depending on their responses, Diegel said.
The training will allow dispatchers to provide more assistance with medical calls until an emergency medical squad arrives on scene.
Dispatchers now help with CPR calls but could also help with cuts or even broken bones after being trained, he said.
"I look at it as a good thing," he said.
It would be hard for one dispatcher to handle a medical-related call and all other calls at the same time. A second dispatcher would improve service, he said.
Dispatchers are trained annually to deal with situations including active shooters or other emergencies, Solomon said.
