Jackson 911 dispatchers get big boost to budget after $20k award

JACKSON, Tenn. — Local dispatchers will be getting a boost in their training soon.

“We are very excited and totally blessed,” said Jackson Central Dispatch Director Lanonda Jernigan.

Jackson Central Dispatch is getting a helping hand in training certification. The facility was awarded money for training by their software company Central Square Technologies.

Jernigan says they award different dispatch centers each year, so she decided to take a chance.

“I applied and stated that I wanted to use it for our dispatchers,” Jernigan said. “They sent me a notification stating that we had won $20,000, or we were being awarded $20,000 for training for our department for central dispatch and the employees of central dispatch.”

Each dispatcher — both federal and state — have to go through training each year, which adds up in costs.

Jernigan says with the award, they can also look at adding more communications training officers.

“We have one that is certified and we are going to get two others certified as well. That takes quite a bit of funding because you have to go out of state for that.”

She says this award can be used at anytime, in any way. So they are hoping that the funds will roll over into another year.

“Our training budget is not a substantial amount of money that we budget for every year, so this is going to provide not only this year but next year too.”

Along with helping fund training, Jernigan says this will give dispatchers opportunities of a lifetime.

“It is going to provide a lot of open door access for them to be able to travel and see other departments, as well as go to conferences,” Jernigan said. “You see other departments and other dispatchers and 911 operators from all over the U.S. and outside the country.”

Jernigan hopes that conferences will continue to open back up for dispatchers after COVID-19 shut them down.

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