News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Putnam County 911 has opened applications for dispatchers.
911 Director Penny Foister said the department is low on part-time workers and wants two more full-time dispatchers.
“We’re going to ask the county commission and 911 board at our next budget cycle to add two more positions, two more full-time positions,” Foister said. “When we do that, we will need to hire some to pull from part-time for those positions.”
Foister said the department looks for good listening and communication skills in candidates as well as familiarity with different technologies.
“We don’t really have any part-time staff right now,” Foister said. “So, even if we weren’t going to hire others, we would need some part-time people. If full-time people need some time off, part-time is usually the ones that will work for them.”
Dispatchers must be able to perform duties for 12 hour shifts and sometimes longer in times of disaster. Foister said there is not a certain number of workers the department wants to hire.
“They maybe able to pick up several shifts, or you may need to get more because others may have other obligations or other part-time jobs, So it kind of just depends on the schedule,” Foister said.
