The Grant County Emergency Communications Agency continues to grow since it became its own agency in 2019.

Dispatch Director Valerie Maynard said things have gone well since the transition.

The dispatch team moved from the John Day Police Department to the John Day Fire Hall, which provided more space and the opportunity to design their work arrangements to correlate with their duties.

“The notable thing is that we now don’t have the interruptions that we had at city hall with the background noise on the radio, and users appreciate the change,” Maynard said.

House Bill 2449, which was passed in 2019, has provided a growth in revenue for 911 dispatchers in Oregon.

The bill increased the fee for wireless and wired telephone accounts and prepaid wireless retail transactions to $1 in 2020, up from 75 cents, and will rise again in 2021 to $1.25.

“It went up a total of 50 cents from the 75 cents, which is huge,” Maynard. “We went from around $70,000 to $100,000 for a quarter in revenue for the first increase. That adds up, and now we’re looking like we’re in the black.”

Maynard said the entities that are in the dispatch center’s intergovernmental council — cities and other dispatch users — were happy the bill passed. The goal of the intergovernmental agreement was that the entities would cover some of the costs of the dispatch agency until there was a tax increase.

“Much like the PD, we were running on such a shoestring budget for many years prior to the transition,” Maynard said. “Now we have a bit of a reserve, and we can keep building and then we can do things that we need to do to operate.”

The dispatch center is waiting to hear back from a grant application to upgrade their radio system, Maynard said.

Maynard said the certainty and the knowledge that the dispatch center is not going anywhere anytime soon provides comfort for residents and employees.

The uncertainty of employment for dispatchers prior to the intergovernmental agreement provided a great trial for the dispatch team.

“We didn’t know, and it’s very unusual that you go through something like that and people don’t look for other jobs,” Maynard said. “But everyone was dedicated to not make things fall apart, so they waited until the last minute to know if they’ll be employed, and we were at full staff when we moved.”

The relationship with the city of John Day also took a hit when the discussion of the transition began, but Maynard said things calmed down.

“Even if it was a sound business decision on their part, it was not easy to hear that we now have to support ourselves and move somewhere else to work,” Maynard said.

People asked Maynard if the current situation between the police department and the city is reminiscent to what happened with dispatch. She said yes, but she is not surprised about the discussions happening because of the budget and costs to maintain the police department.

“That’s tough on (JDPD employees), but now they know that if they contract with the county, they have a job,” Maynard said.

Maynard said a key benefit with keeping the dispatch local is the knowledge dispatchers have of the area and their awareness of locations.

A highlight of the job for dispatchers is working and serving in the community they love. She said the job takes a toll on a dispatcher emotionally, but they learn to adapt and have a passion for what they do.

“We thank the community and entities for their support, and we wouldn’t be here without them,” Maynard said.