Dispatch director responds to recent complaints about 911 dispatchers

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Wednesday, April 27, 2016, 2 p.m. — Dispatch Director Debbie Carter issued a response Wednesday to local media bout recent negative comments about Nelson County Dispatch and its employees by Mayor John Royalty.

Mayor John Royalty’s Feb. 10, 2016 letter to KSP Post 4 in Elizabethtown regarding KSP dispatch services. Click to enlarge.

Carter referred to Mayor John Royalty’s statements in his Feb. 10, 2016, letter asking the Kentucky State Police post in Elizabethtown about taking over dispatching for city police and fire departments — services now performed by the joint city-county dispatch center.

In the letter to KSP, Royalty complained about the quality of communications, and wrote that the dispatchers “are either not trained sufficiently on law enforcement protocol, or are not properly supervised.”

In her response, Carter wrote that those comments “were mean and unnecessary.”

“Our Nelson County Dispatchers do not deserve to be treated this way and I am damned tired of it,” she said.

In last Thursday’s safety committee meeting, Councilman Bill Buckman complained about the quality of dispatch communications and alleged that dispatchers use social media and play games during their shifts.

Carter noted that Royalty’s interest in cutting costs appear to apply only to the dispatch center. As proof, her letter cites several instances where the city is discussing spending more money, including the fire department’s need for a new ladder truck; recent talk about the city police and fire department need for a new building; and the fact the city now sends it police vehicles out of the county to have lights, radios, and other emergency equipment installed at a higher cost, rather than paying to have the work done locally.

“You can say and print whatever you want about me,” she said. “Anyone can make unsubstantiated comments, that’s easy and cowardice. I am tired of the innuendo and bullying tactics exhibited by some City officials toward our dispatch center.”

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