Nearly half 911 operational positions are vacant in Durham

WRAL News has been reporting on staffing issues at the Durham 911 Center for more than a year and a half.

Durham Reporter Sarah Krueger found that - despite acknowledgment of the problem from city leaders - the vacancies are increasing.

New numbers posted this week show roughly half of the operational positions at Durham's 911 center are vacant.

In the summer of 2021, WRAL reported 25 positions out of 62 were empty. Now that number has climbed to 30.

"The City of Durham, as an employer, is not exempt from the same forces that are impacting all employers in the American economy. We have a worker situation in the economy," said Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton.

He says the vacancies are a top priority for City Council.

"We've got to keep pushing our efforts in recruiting," he said. "In last year's budget, we put money in to partner with Durham Tech to bolster the training and recruitment efforts to train 911 call takers."

Durham Tech has graduated classes from that training program - but could not tell me if any of the graduates took jobs with the city.

The city's website shows the annual salary for entry level telecommunications starts at $39,000.

"As the pay scale goes, Durham is actually right at the top. We are very competitive in terms of what we pay, but these are very hard jobs as well," said Middleton.

The industry standard for 911 answer times is that 90% of calls be answered in 10 seconds or less. However, Durham did not meet that goal in any month of 2022.

Middleton stresses although it may take a bit longer in some cases - the calls are getting answered.

"The calls are being answered," he said. "And if you are facing an emergency, call 911."

In a statement, a city spokesperson acknowledged retaining new recruits has been difficult, despite what she called competitive pay and benefits.

Because of the staffing situation, call takers are required to work 10 overtime hours per month.