The Monroe County Dispatch Center, which handles all 911 calls for Bloomington, currently has seven open positions. That’s according to Bloomington Police Chief Mike Diekhoff.
He says the center struggles with employee recruitment and retention even though the most recent city budget increased funding. Three more positions were added recently.
Diekhoff says the problem is due to the stressful nature of the job.
“We have openings for dispatchers. It’s just finding people who understand what the job is, can deal with the stress of being a dispatcher and working the hours that are required.”
Though the dispatch center isn’t fully staffed, Diekhoff says it does have enough people to fill each shift minimum of four people. The department currently has 18 dispatchers, five supervisors, an assistant manager, and a general manger.
Diekhoff says COVID-19 has posed new challenges, because people who exhibit symptoms of the virus can’t come in to work. That means others will work mandatory overtime.
He says calls to the center remain relatively consistent year-to-year and there hasn't been a notable increase during the pandemic.
