commission to advertise for next dispatch director

Advertising for the next director of Vicksburg Warren E-911 Dispatch Center was OK’d Monday by the seven officials who compose the management commission for the city-county agency.

The position was vacated Nov. 15 by Michael Gaul, who accepted a post with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Deputy Director Nicole Vera was assigned supervisory duties on an interim basis and is expected to apply for the job.

Instead of submitting resumes directly to the commission, District 1 Supervisor David McDonald, chairman of the commission, said application packets will be available for pickup at the Chancery Clerk’s Office at the courthouse. Once filled out, the paperwork will be forwarded to the seven-member commission, which will conduct the interviews. The deadline to apply is Jan. 10.

McDonald said the commission may also seek financial information, such as credit histories, from applicants.

“Anybody can send in a resume and make themselves look good on paper,” McDonald said, who was questioned Monday by other supervisors on the relevance of information the county does not normally seek. A common practice in the private sector, inquiries into credit information are legal in 48 of 50 states on job applications. Only Hawaii and Washington prohibit the practice, though some state legislatures and Congress have moved to ban the use of such information on most employment decisions.

McDonald referred to resumes submitted before appointments to justice court seats in the Southern and Central districts this year. “We got some that weren’t any more qualified than that ink pen,” McDonald said.

Seven applications were reviewed by supervisors for the Southern District post, with three others discounted because the applicant did not live in the district. Jeff Crevitt was appointed on a split vote and won a special election to the position Nov. 3. Eleven applications came in for the Central District judgeship, to which James Jefferson was appointed by the board. McDonald voted in the majority to appoint both men.

McDonald said a more detailed application might lead to more qualified applicants.

The next director will be the emergency dispatch operation’s fifth since 2003. The center operates on about $1.3 million annually, a figure that has risen since voters approved centralized dispatch in 1989. Salaries for secretaries, the deputy director and director — which account for roughly $500,000 of the annual budget — are paid for via surcharges added to home and cell phone bills.

Dispatchers’ salaries are paid for with a 65 percent contribution from the city and a 35 percent contribution from the county. The director’s position pays $48,500 annually.

In January, emergency dispatch center moved to First North and Clay streets, completing a $2.5 million equipment upgrade and facility renovation.

Commission posts are held by Vicksburg Mayor Paul Winfield, Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong, Vicksburg Fire Chief Charles Atkins, Warren County Volunteer Fire Coordinator Kelly Worthy, Sheriff Martin Pace and Warren County Emergency Management Director Gwen Coleman.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com