BRIDGETON, Mo. — Should St. Louis County step in to help handle 911 calls coming in to Bridgeton? That's the decision the Bridgeton City Council will have to make Wednesday night.
A bill is on the table for approval.
The City of Bridgeton said it doesn't have enough 911 dispatchers to handle all of the calls coming in.
The mayor said this new bill would shift dispatch duties from Bridgeton to St. Louis County, a move that would hopefully get people the help they need faster.
Bridgeton has five 911 dispatchers right now handling the workload.
The city budget is set for eight dispatch workers, but filling the positions has been tough.
Bill 6315 proposes the city sign a contract with St. Louis County that establishes that county workers would handle Bridgeton 911 dispatch calls. The county would then route Bridgeton police to the emergencies.
Last week, Bridgeton residents came to a town hall meeting to learn more about the plan, which would still have a couple of Bridgeton dispatchers working.
"We will have two dispatchers on duty all the time, which we don't have at the current time, so if something would ever happen you'd have someone to take their place and it's more than just two with the county. They have a room full of dispatchers," Bridgeton Mayor Terry Briggs explained.
Right now, Bridgeton only has one dispatcher working on each shift.
The mayor said this change could save about $685,000 from the city dispatch budget.
The Bridgeton City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
If the bill is approved, St. Louis County could take over dispatch duties as soon as June. The bill stipulates the contract can be renewed annually until Dec. 31, 2025.