A serious staffing shortage caused Union County in April to request Wayne County’s assistance handling 911 emergency calls. Now, the shortage has become more dire.
In April, Wayne County’s commissioners approved an interlocal agreement for the Wayne County Emergency Communications Center to handle Union County’s 911 calls overnight Tuesday through Saturday and all day Sunday and Monday. During their July 29 meeting, however, commissioners were asked to amend that interlocal to provide 24/7 coverage and to consider permanently consolidating the two counties’ emergency communications.
Wayne County Council member Barry Ritter is co-founder of Ritter Strategic Services, which has Union County as a client. Representing Union County’s commissioners, Ritter relayed the requests.
Ritter said that as of 3 p.m. Aug. 1 Union County would have no trained 911 dispatchers available. That was when the 911 director’s resignation took effect. Ritter said stabilizing the staffing situation became impossible when two other dispatchers recently resigned.
The April interlocal provided a time period through Dec. 31; however, it stipulated a $26,000 maximum cost to Union County, which was paying Wayne County $248 per eight-hour shift covered. The amended interlocal need only remove the maximum cost.
Commissioners expressed intent to support Union County, but not at a financial loss for Wayne County. They unanimously approved amending the interlocal, then unanimously authorized further exploration of consolidating services.
Ritter said Union County 911 was intentionally equipped the same as Wayne County so Wayne County could provide support. He called Union County essentially a remote work station for Wayne County’s system.
Matthew Cain, director of Wayne County ECC, said he expected that the two systems would consolidate at some point, and the recent resignations convinced Union County to make the request. Cain said covering Union County calls for nearly three months has gone well; however, there are challenges.
A permanent consolidation involves more than answering emergency calls. Dispatchers also answer nonemergency phone calls and provide support services for the probation department, prosecutors, public defenders and law enforcement. Cain said he needs data from Union County, such as numbers of nonemergency calls answered and warrants issued, before deciding consolidation’s impact on Wayne County’s staff.
Wayne County’s Emergency Communications Center has six work stations available, regularly staffing five, with a minimum of four. Commissioner Brad Dwenger said he sees no way to consolidate without Wayne County adding staff.
A consolidation would also involve Liberty. The town pays Union County for emergency communications services.
Lawsuit settlement
Ron Cross presented commissioners with an agreement offering $8,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of the county’s chief deputy coroner, Dillon Pitcher.
The suit said blocking Pitcher from the commissioners’ Facebook page violated his rights. The commissioners, who approved the settlement offer, have since shut down the Facebook page.
The parties have until Aug. 5 to file for the lawsuit’s dismissal in the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana.
Other actions
- Commissioners granted the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office permission to dispose of storage boxes no longer used in new sheriff’s vehicles. The boxes were custom built for Chevrolet Tahoes but no longer fit inside vehicles that are 6 inches narrower. The Preble County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office expressed interest in acquiring the boxes when on site looking at Wayne County’s drone program.
- Cain presented commissioners with Wayne County Emergency Management Agency’s updated Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and its 2026 Hazardous Materials Response Plan. Commissioners approved both plans.
A version of this article will appear in the August 5 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
