GATES COUNTY, N.C. — If you need to call 911 in Gates County, chances are that call is being answered in Perquimans County. Officials said it’s all because of staffing shortages.
“We redid the schedule and then we lost another one. And then we redid the schedule again and we lost another one,” said Gates County Sheriff Ray Campbell. “We redid the schedule again until we got to the point where we didn’t have enough people to redo the schedule anymore.’
Campbell said the 911 dispatch center is down about half of its employees due to some leaving for other jobs or because they’re off on medical leave.
“I do intend to bring the center back. I just need about five or six full-time, certified dispatchers and we’re off and running,” he said. “That’s asking for a lot I know.”
He made the decision to transfer 911 calls to the Perquimans County 911 Communications Center, something made possible under a prior arrangement. Some Gates County staffers will work out of that center until local service is restored.
“The calls are being taken, they’re being dispatched, all the calls are being answered: EMS, fire, law enforcement,” Campbell said. All the calls are coming in and they’re being dispatched with no problems.”
A study from 2023 finds 911 centers in urban and rural areas alike have faced recruiting challenges. There was an average vacancy rate of 25 percent, with some agencies reporting vacancies of more than 40 percent, according to the International Academies or Emergency Dispatch (IAED) and the National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators (NASNA).
April Heinze, vice president in chief for 911 operations at NENA: The 911 Association, said that rural agencies have lower margins of error because their staffs are so small.
“It takes a significant amount of time to train individuals to do the jobs,” Heinze said. “Not only does it take a significant amount of time, it’s one on one time. And if you’re already down in staffing levels, it means you’re going to have fewer trainers.”
So it can take months for agencies to staff back up.
“We had all new equipment put in about a year ago. It’s a really nice center. But we’re a small, really rural community,” Campbell said.
“Unless someone really wants to come here and work here, it’s not an awful lot to attract them. Our pay is very attractive.”
Experts said consolidation has become a growing trend among rural 911 call centers.
“There may be benefits that the public would derive from the combination of resources and ultimately the ability to combine funding to help ensure that these centers are current in technology and up to date in training,” said Brian Fontes, CEO of NENA: The 911 Association.
Campbell told News 3 his office stepped up to take over 911 services in Gates County after a plan to consolidate the system was under consideration. He knows that talk will continue if staffing shortages persist.
