MUSKEGON, Mich. — In Muskegon County, if you call 911, chances are someone just like Stephanie Stefanich answers the call for help.
“I’ve taken calls from my mom who was having a heart attack, my brother, who was having an accident,” Dispatch Supervisor Stephanie Stefanich said.
But the staffers who answer calls for help, say they need the help of Muskegon County voters come August 2.
“It’s a renewal. It’s been the same rate since the early 2000s,” Muskegon Central Dispatch Executive Director Jason Wolford said.
The rate hasn't changed. It's still .3 mills, or thirty cents for every $1,000 of taxable value.
“We had a lot of questions about the surcharge that was initiated back in 2019. That was for much-needed infrastructure and capital upgrades. We're appreciative of that, but without great people to run those things, we’re not really that far ahead of that,” Wolford said.
The thing is—dispatch is already short.
“We are down probably 11 people from full-staff," Stephanie said.
That means people like Stephanie are working. A lot. Seven days a week, 12-hour shifts, sometimes. Someone has to answer the calls for help, and the staff at Muskegon Central answers the calls for the entire county.
“They’d just keep ringing. Until someone can get to it,” Stephanie said.
Stephanie says unanswered phones are a certain cause for stress.
“You get really anxious. You know it’s someone calling for help. There’s nothing you can do til you get off that other line,” Stephanie said.
This is why Muskegon Central is working to train new dispatch staff daily.
“They live in Muskegon County. They work in Muskegon County. They’re intimate for the cause,” Operations Manager Drew Roesler said.
Intimate for a cause that they say, people rarely see working, but one that's there around the clock.
“I would hate to think about laying anybody off. Or putting anyone’s lives in jeopardy,” Wolford said.
The millage renewal makes up 45% of the staffing budget. Stephanie says, though most people never plan to call 911, their work is needed, for people on their worst day.
“They don’t think of us as the first responders. But we are. We’re the first person you hear when you call. We’re the first person to send the help out for you,” Stephanie said.
