MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — Covering every shift is becoming more and more difficult at Muskegon Central Dispatch, but executive director Jason Wolford says it's happening due to the extreme dedication of 911 telecommunicators.
"Individuals that step up and fill those open shifts," said Wolford.
Muskegon County Central Dispatch 911 hopes to ease the stress on existing staff with the posting of six positions. The deadline to apply for the full-time and part-time openings for telecommunicators is Sept. 7.
Wolford hopes the new staff can be hired and begin training for the positions before the end of September. Following an extensive training period, the new telecommunicators could be ready to begin covering shifts and relieving staff early in 2022.
"By the time we actually get new telecommunicators in the center and they're trained it will be a good six to eight months before they're able to take phone calls and dispatch first responders," said Misu Kozal, Muskegon Central Dispatch 911 quality improvement and training specialist.
To start, the position pays $19.04 per hour and increases to $24.58 after two years of employment. Benefits include paid time off for vacations, sick leave and holidays as well as a health insurance plan with retirement and in-house training.
"We hope in this very dire hiring climate we'll stand out from other places," said Kozal.
Telecommunicators at Muskegon Central Dispatch are responsible for answering calls to 911 and dispatch 15 fire departments, 11 police departments and two EMS providers to emergency scenes.
Wolford says the dispatch center is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with telecommunicators working 12-hour shifts. He hopes there's interest in the positions so staff don't burn out.
"We like to think of ourselves as the first first-responder. It all starts with them and we set the tone for how that emergency incident is going to play out," said Wolford. "That's why we're pursuing additional candidates that are going to come here to be dedicated to the team."
Information on submitting an application can be found here.
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