County efforts continue in wake of Troy Dispatch dissolution

The Lincoln County Commissioners put the finishing touch on the dissolution of the Troy Dispatch Center at a recent meeting.

The commissioners held a public hearing on Oct. 18 to hear comments from Troy residents and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

The only thing standing in the way of the final decision was a stipulation that if the county had received written protests in advance from district property owners who were assessed 50% or more of the cost of the program or improvements or more than 10% but less than 50% of the cost of the program or improvements.

But that didn’t happen.

During recent meetings in Troy about the future of the dispatch center, many area residents were concerned about losing it.

But at the Oct. 18 meeting, District 2 Commissioner Jim Hammons made his feelings known.

“I’ve been to the two meetings at the high school where 40 to 60 people attended and a lot of people said they were gonna step up to keep the center open and here we are, no dispatchers,” Hammons said. “If we can’t get people to work, there’s nothing else that can be done. We as commissioners have to provide public safety in the best way we can. I’ve heard what people are saying about communications, but these gentlemen (sheriff’s office) are working hard to get that fixed.”

The Troy Dispatch Board voted unanimously to dissolve the Troy Area Dispatch District and permanently transfer dispatch services to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office at a meeting in late September. The dispatch center, in operation since 1965, stopped operating on July 17, citing issues with the failure to properly staff the center in Troy.

At Wednesday's county commissioners meeting, they learned they're stuck with a $58,000 tab that resulted, in part, from TAD paying overtime in a futile attempt to keep its dispatch open this year. Hammons said there were other expenses in the figure, including rent, other bills and overtime that county employees worked to fill the gap.

"At some point, we'll probably do an audit to figure it out," Hammons said.

One instance of a staffing failure, cited in a letter from Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short to the commissioners, explained how one dispatcher had been on shift for 16 hours with no other dispatcher available to work.

“Late in 2022, because of the earlier TAD staffing situation, LCSO developed a contingency plan for emergency operation of TAD radios in the event of another staffing crisis,” Short wrote. “LCSO purchased and installed approximately $22,000 in unbudgeted radio connectivity equipment to enable the remote operation of the TAD radios and the ability to remotely page fire and EMS agencies in the event TAD became unstaffed.”

One dispatcher from Troy was hired in a temporary, full-time, position. Short requested funding at Wednesday's county commission meeting to make her a permanent dispatcher in the county Sheriff's Office and add a seventh dispatcher. He said it was necessary to handle the increase in calls and prevent burnout among current dispatch employees.

The commissioners approved the move and after District 1 Commissioner Brent Teske spoke briefly with county Finance Officer Wendy Drake, will likely make a budget amendment to use Payment In Lieu of Taxes money to cover the costs for this fiscal year.

"Adding dispatchers is critical to avoid burnout and to handle the additional calls we're getting," Short said.

The office space that was home to Troy Area Dispatch will remain open for the public's use. It is monitored by the Sheriff's Office in Libby 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The county ballot drop box and drop box for unused or expired prescription medications are located there.

Also, within a few weeks, a direct dial phone will be in place within the next few weeks, according to Undersheriff Brent Faulkner.

Many Troy area residents who spoke at the Oct. 18 meeting spoke of communication issues that they had either experienced or had heard others speak of.

One woman said her husband ended up taking her to the hospital because a 911 call didn’t make it through.

“The telephone failed, my husband took me to the hospital and fortunately everything turned out fine, but the communications need to improve,” she said. 

But Short, Faulkner and District 1 Commissioner Brent Teske spoke of why some calls aren’t being received at dispatch in Libby.

“I’ve never seen a call not get answered,” Short said. “If someone calls 911 and they get a busy signal, it’s not reaching the tower and some of the delays are because the proper technology is not in place. Even if a dispatcher is on a call, it will bounce to another dispatcher. One call went to Hardin and they had to sort it out. If a call goes to another center, then they’ll try to reach us.”

Teske said working with cell phone companies to increase tower sites is not something that happens quickly.

Short also said older radios that are not commercial grade were problematic.

“Some of these radios are 11 years old, 35 watts and only transmitting at 10 or 15 watts, so that’s an issue,” Short said. “But the radio technician we hired out of Kalispell installed a 100-watt transmitter to improve EMS dispatch.”

Faulkner said some of the tech upgrades the county is currently or planning to do should have already been done.

“Honestly, it should have been updated years ago,” he said. “We’ve adjusted the phone tree for better communications and with this resolution being passed, we can go forward with more work that needs to be done.”

Faulkner also said for first responders in the Troy area, including fire and ambulance departments, there are grants available to help cover the costs of new radios.

“There are grants available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Town Pump and Flathead Electric,” Faulkner said.

Faulkner said one of the problems with the Troy Dispatch Center being chronically understaffed was that money that was being spent on overtime pay instead of for equipment upgrades.

Short and Faulkner both urged anyone working in emergency services in the county that is having a problem to get ahold of them so it can be fixed.

“T-Mobile came in to adjust a tower, then their person called to see if the adjustment had worked,” Faulkner said. “When the person called and got a dispatch center, they believed everything was fine.

“But it turned out the center was in Hardin. We wouldn’t have known that if a local caller hadn’t alerted us about it,” Faulkner said.