LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Ingham County may soon spend more than half-a-million dollars on a six-month contract with a Colorado-based firm to bring in temporary 911 dispatchers—if it can get union buy-in first.

The proposed $548,000 agreement with getResQ911 is aimed at stabilizing a short-staffed emergency dispatch center where only 25 of 39 employees are fully trained. That’s well below the 52 needed for full staffing, the Lansing State Journal reported.

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Ingham County Controller Gregg Todd said the temporary workers would help ease mandatory overtime, which totaled 88 hours in June alone.

“This measure is intended to stabilize the current workforce during a period of need,” the county resolution reads, “and is not intended to replace existing staff.”

Still, the plan has hit a pause. The Board of Commissioners has yet to vote, and county officials are waiting for support from the Capital City Labor Program, the union that represents dispatchers. The union’s current contract, which expired at the end of 2024, requires union approval for outside hiring.

Union members are voting on the new contract this week.

If approved, getResQ911 is expected to send eight full-time dispatchers to Ingham County. They would be paid $55 an hour, far exceeding county rates. In 2024, Ingham dispatchers earned between $22.18 and $30.49 per hour, depending on seniority. 

Diane Carroll, founder of getResQ911, said her 50 contract dispatchers typically earn six-figure salaries but don’t receive health benefits or county pensions.