Ongoing staffing shortages at the York County 911 Center have caused the center's director to reduce the frequency and kinds of nonemergency services that dispatchers have been providing to police, fire and EMS agencies.
The York Dispatch has obtained a copy of a two-page letter dated Sept. 18 that was sent to all York County police chiefs, fire chiefs and EMS officials by 911 Director Matthew Hobson.
"As you are aware, York County 911 is under considerable strain with regard to the limited number of staff that are available," he wrote. "(I)t has become necessary for the 911 center to reduce the demands placed on the current staff by reducing the volume of non-emergency communications it has traditionally provided to public safety agencies."
The goal, Hobson wrote, is to "reduce the frequency and amount of time that our staff spends on the phone or doing tasks other than answering 911 calls and dispatching the appropriate agencies."