For hundreds of local police officers, firefighters and other emergency workers in Kenosha County, 911 dispatchers are the critical link between them and the public they serve.
Employed by the city-county Joint Services, a merger that has been in effect since 1982, dispatchers are also in short supply.
Currently, Joint Services, which handles public safety 911 calls for the city police and fire departments, along with the county sheriff’s department, and other municipal fire departments, has eight 911 dispatcher vacancies. Staffing losses, have come as a result of a combination of retirements and resignations, according to Director Josh Nielsen, who was appointed in February to oversee the agency which has an annual operating budget of just over $10 million.