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North Little Rock seeking dispatchers amid shortage

When fully staffed, there are 29 dispatchers working for North Little Rock. Right now, only 16 positions are filled.

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark — A troubling trend has popped up in several cities across the country— there are fewer dispatchers working to take your emergency calls.

The City of North Little Rock said that everything changed after the pandemic, and now they are trying to overcome the shortage by being more competitive.

Caleb Whitmore, who works as a local dispatcher, described the job as chaotic and said that it requires him to multitask through some hectic times.

But for him, it's all worth it.

"On a day-to-day basis, it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done," said Whitmore.

As rewarding as it can be, hiring people to handle all the chaos has been tough.

There has been a nationwide shortage of dispatchers— and North Little Rock is no exception.

"We're all picking up a decent amount of overtime in here. We are at our minimum staffing which does make it difficult," said Whitmore.

There are 29 dispatcher positions for the City of North Little Rock in total— 13 of those are vacant at the moment.

Mayor Terry Hartwick and the city are working to get those seats filled.

The city will be recruiting through different job sites with a broader reach, in addition to increasing the starting salary.

"Right now, we are starting at 16 [dollars.] It ain't like a large amount of money, but when you are losing people for a couple bucks, why not go ahead and give them a couple bucks and know they have great benefits," said Mayor Hartwick.

Caleb added that as rewarding as the job can be, it is one that shouldn't be taken lightly.

"It's a passion-filled job. You have to find a reason to want to be here and everyone has their own reason," explained Whitmore.

In Little Rock, the dispatch center is trying to make operations more efficient with less staff available to work with.

They have reduced the call channels to make answering emergencies more efficient and they will transition to a 12-hour work day.

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