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Last updated on Wednesday, August 10, 2016
(BEDFORD) - The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department is finalizing plans to become a Central Dispatch Center for the county.
Once the agreement is finalized no calls will be taken at the Mitchell Police Department.
"Mitchell Police Department will still have one dispatcher on station Monday through Friday during regular business hours to handle random calls or if someone comes on station with a complaint. But all calls will be dispatched thought the Sheriff's Department," says Sheriff Mike Branham. "This is best for the public's safety to take all the calls for Mitchell."
The City of Mitchell lost their funding for 911 when the state decided to create a central dispatch center for each county.
The Sheriff's Department will need to add one full-time dispatcher to handle the call load. The cost of that dispatcher will be $50,000 a year and will include the cost of benefits.
The commissioners signed an agreement with the City of Mitchell asking them to pay for that employee.
"This way when a 911 call or any call comes into the department one dispatcher handles that caller until emergency crews arrive on the scene," says Sheriff Branham.
The City of Bedford will continue to handle all of their 911 calls.
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