By Todd South
The Chattanooga Times Free Press
SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. — In coming weeks, four South Pittsburg, Tenn., emergency dispatchers will lose their jobs.
The dispatchers also serve as the city’s only full-time firefighters, forcing South Pittsburg to rely on 28 volunteer firefighters. The loss of the firefighters should not affect the Insurance Services Office rating for city residents or businesses, officials said.
The city passed its $1.6 million annual budget late last month and decided to move emergency dispatch operations to the county system, saving an estimated $100,000 annually, City Manager T.J. Landers said.
The city is the only one in Marion County to run its own dispatch services, Mr. Landers said, and eliminating the service has been discussed for a couple of years.
Dispatch services amounted to 10 percent of the city’s total budget, Mr. Landers said, and tax revenues have declined nearly that much this year.
The city will keep a part-time fire chief, Mr. Landers said. Fire Chief Freddie Cook is one of the dispatchers and has been offered the part-time position.
Chief Cook declined to comment.
If the four full-time employees want to work as volunteer firefighters, they’ll have to apply to the department, Mr. Landers said.
The city must wait for the next Marion County Commission meeting, scheduled at the end of the month, before contract information and transition can begin, he said.
“What we thought would be a fast, smooth transition has turned into a slowdown,” Mr. Landers said.
Marion County Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett said his nine-dispatcher unit will have to hire another dispatcher to cover the area. The county will charge about $50,000 annually for the service, he said.
Mr. Landers said the city has paid about $160,000 annually for the four employees’ salaries, benefits and operation.
The city’s Insurance Services Office rating should not be affected by the change, Mr. Landers said. The rating evaluates a city’s response and prevention work with fires. Business owners and homeowners use the rating to gain better insurance rates for property.
“I talked with the ISO people, (and) the part-time chief has nothing do to with (the rate),” he said. “Moving the dispatch function to the county won’t hurt; it may even help.”
Mr. Landers said the county 911 center keeps two dispatchers on duty 24 hours a day; locally they had only one person working over that period.
Copyright 2009 Chattanooga Publishing Company