Volusia County adding incentives to keep 911 dispatchers

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The people who answer 911 calls in Volusia County don't appear to be sticking around for long, Channel 9's Cuthbert Langley learned.

Officials said the 911 call center is losing close to half of all newly hired dispatchers within a year of their hiring.

Patricia McDonnell is on the front line answering peoples’ calls for help. She's been a dispatcher for Volusia County for more than three decades and still remembers the first call she ever took.

“It was a stabbing. You were kind of on your own, so it was a little frightening,” McDonnell said.

“There is a perpetual shortage. It is just a continual process,” said John Balloni, director of the communications center.

Balloni said dispatchers simply aren't staying and he blames lengthy training, and said there's a lot of stress that comes along with answering calls for help.

“Sometimes the job is just not what they thought it would be,” said Balloni.

There are 16 open positions right now. Factoring in the 21 who are in training, that number is 37.

To help fill these seats, Balloni created a new position, communication aides. They don't have to go through 18 months of state-mandated training.

The aids help call-takers by running names of possible suspects, license plates and giving information to deputies.

“The quicker you get that information back, the quicker you are to create a battle plan,” said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

Chitwood said the new aides have helped his deputies and he’s even training to be one. That's something McDonnell hopes motivates these dispatchers to stick around, as McDonnell has.

“Thirty years. If i didn't like it, i wouldn't be here,” McDonnell said.

Officials told Eyewitness News that they hope the have the program fully staffed by May.

The sheriff also told Eyewitness News that he's urging county leaders to raise the pay for dispatchers from $12 to $13.00 hourly.

Cox Media Group