MANSFIELD, Ohio – The Richland County 911 Dispatch is now a division of the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, officials announced Tuesday morning.
According to County Commissioner Marilyn John, the move will save the county approximately $80,000 through the elimination of a county position. County 911 Coordinator Lisa Burdine was let go as part of the reorganization as her position was eliminated.
“We also feel this new structure will help us find other ways to integrate these departments for future savings down the road,” John said.
The 16 full-time dispatchers were sworn in as employees of the Sheriff’s Office Tuesday morning by Sheriff Steve Sheldon. Sheldon said that Administrative Sgt. Steve Boyd will oversee the County 911 as a result of the new plan.
Until Tuesday’s announcement, County 911 was run by the Richland County Commissioners. The commissioners and the 911 Planning Committee both approved the change in the 911 implementation plan Tuesday morning. Members of the 911 Planning Committee include Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker, County Commissioner Tim Wert and Madison Township Trustee Dan Fletcher.
Financial savings were not the only reason the move was made, according to John.
“Beyond the financial benefits of this collaboration, we also feel that public officer safety will be improved,” John said. “It’s an important aspect of what we do, watching out for the safety of our officers, from the sheriff’s department to our fire departments. These are men and women who put their lives on the line. They step in between us as residents and danger every day. And we want to make sure that whatever systems we put in place, that we have their safety first and foremost in our minds.”
Sheldon reassured citizens that all existing services should remain in place and at the level they have come to expect.
“This is about making things better for the citizens of our county,” Sheldon said. “We’re going to have some transition time here, where we try to figure all this out, which direction we go, and how we make it better for the residents of our county, and our cities, and our villages and our townships.”
John said another reason for the move was to hopefully help ease the stress dispatchers deal with on a daily basis.
“We want to be able to work with them to find closure, when they have that difficult call from the residents, and we feel that having them part of the team with the sheriff’s department will help them do that,” John said.
Dispatchers will have to undergo training to learn some aspects of working for the Sheriff’s Office that are different from their previous positions.
“We’re also trying to get CALEA accreditation … Part of that process will also be dispatch, so what we’re trying to do at this point is make sure that all of our standard operating procedures are in compliance with national standards,” Sheldon said. “But basically 90 percent of what they’re doing now is staying the same. There are just some things that will be enhanced, just to get them on the same page.”
The County 911 Dispatch Center handles all 911 calls for the county, except for Mansfield landline calls.
John said at this time there is no plan to merge city and county 911 dispatch centers, or to merge the County Dispatch Center with any neighboring counties.
