By Ralph Echtinaw

If you enjoy helping strangers and talking on the phone your ideal job might be with Gratiot County Central Dispatch, where emergency 911 calls are answered.

Supervisor Dan Morden has interviewed one applicant with three more on deck for two openings, but more applicants are welcome to apply. Morden plans to put his two new dispatchers to work in mid April.

The starting pay for dispatchers (officially called public safety telecommunicators) is $16.16/hour. After completion of training, which can take up to six months, the wage rises to $16.67. Periodic increases over the next six years bring the top wage to $21.12. (There is also a 35 cent/hour wage premium for working night shifts.)

Shifts are 12 hours long with two weekends off per month. Dispatchers have full county employee benefits from day one, including medical, dental, vision, retirement plan and personal time off accrual (16 hours per month). 

Your work location would be the Central Dispatch facility in Ithaca’s industrial park.

Applicants must have a high school diploma (or equivalent), interpersonal skills and typing ability.

Applicants must also be good citizens. If you have a felony or misdemeanor conviction they don’t want you.

Contact Morden at 989-875-5212 if interested.

The Gratiot County Central Dispatch Authority is governed by a board comprising members from the county commission, Michigan State Police, Gratiot County Sheriff’s Office, Gratiot County Fire Chiefs Association and the municipalities of Alma, St. Louis, Ashley, Breckenridge and Perrinton. St. Louis Police Chief Richard J. Ramereiz Jr. is St. Louis’ representative on the board.

For more information on a career in dispatching, read this February 2020 feature story in the St. Louis Sentinel.