Beefed-up recruitment efforts under McDonough’s leadership — along with city officials approving a bump in pay for 911 operators — slashed the department’s vacancy rate by about 10% last year, as well as attracted over 30 new trainees to bolster the staff.
McDonough called the influx in recruits a “blessing and a curse” because existing staffers have to spend time training them, which was one of the factors that caused Tucson’s 911 answer times to be slower than the national standard for most of 2021.
The slowdown is temporary, however, and the increased staffing level that has resulted from McDonough’s efforts is expected to ultimately improve the city’s 911 services. Staffers said employee turnover also decreased during McDonough’s time as interim deputy director.
“If we keep doing these things and keep improving these things, next year we will end up with more (staffers) than we had and eventually get to a really stable level that allows us to sustain, keep people and promote them,” McDonough said in November. “It started with a good pay raise, and it continues with some level of acknowledgement about how important these people are to the system.”
Recruitment efforts will likely remain a priority for the new 911 director as she settles into her new role in the coming months. The department still only had about 90 fully trained employees at the end of last year, which is just over 40% of the staffers needed.