Hiring process for Lake County's E-911 consolidation underway

Deadline for applying for one of the 30 part-time and 100 full-time dispatcher positions open in the initial round of hiring is Aug. 8, said Brian Hitchcock, E-911 director at the Thursday meeting of the E-911 commission. The department will continue to accept applications after that date for future open positions.

So far the county’s E-911 department has received about 300 applications for dispatchers, said Charlie Scott, chairman of the E-911 commission’s human resources subcommittee. Scott said a large number of the applications are from individuals without any qualifications.

Priority in hiring will be given to individuals employed as dispatchers in departments throughout the county.

“(Hiring) is going to be a monumental task,” Scott said.

To help make the process more efficient, the E-911 commission approved allowing Scott and the human resources committee to select the hires and present to the county council and commissioners all dispatchers who have been approved to be hired in one group for county approval without bringing the individuals before the full E-911 commission.

However, members said they want a chance to meet and ask questions of the six trainers and one quality assurance person who must be hired. Commissioners approved bringing those individuals before the full panel in executive session before making a final recommendation to the county council and commissioners.

“I believe these are crucial positions that should have the opportunity to be approved by the board,” member Fred Frigo said.

E-911 commissioners also approved running full background checks on all of the individuals who will become part of the consolidated E-911 even though many of those candidates may already work for a police department.

Scott said the third-party background check looks beyond the criminal into civil and financial matters that officials may want to consider in hiring.

Hitchcock said he would like to have the six supervisors, quality assurance person and 30 part-time dispatchers hired by Oct. 1. The part-time workers will be used to fill in at various departments that run into staffing shortages before the consolidation takes effect Jan. 1.