In Helena, when you call 911 with an emergency, that call goes to the Lewis and Clark County 911 Communication Center. Funding shortages and increased call volume could make getting on the line more difficult in the future.
(WATCH: Dispatch center to see budget, staffing issues with higher call volume)
Last month, 911 communication center support services administrator Zach Slattery presented a new budget to the city/county joint commission, expressing concerns about deficit spending to fund salaries.
“We've actually been pulling from cash reserves out of our mill levy to cover salaries,” Slattery said. “This is gonna be the first year that we have depleted that account.”
According to Slattery, the current public safety mill levy from 2000, where funding for the budgeted call-taking positions exist, is no longer fully covering salaries.
The dispatch center services 26 agencies, from fire departments to medical care to law enforcement. They received 118,000 total calls last year. Comparing this past May to May of 2025, the center saw a 10% increase in call volume and 7% more calls for service.
“Just because that one incident is happening, it doesn’t mean the other 70,000 people within Lewis and Clark County aren't gonna have an unrelated emergency at the same time that we're gonna have to handle, too,” Slattery stated.
As for staffing numbers, Slattery says he’ll staff a minimum of 2 people on shift, working 12-hour shifts. The center is budgeted for 14 call-taking positions, currently employing 13 and looking to hire one more.
While there are no issues in response yet, Slattery says they’re at the tipping point where conversations need to start happening between city and county officials.
“I would say maybe 2, 3 years we can sustain this, but we really do need to look at additional options for funding,” Slattery cautioned.
The center is conducting a staffing analysis with a third-party company, providing historical call data before the third party makes recommendations based on industry standards for staffing.
While there’s currently no way to fund any additional staff, Slattery recommends revisiting the public safety mill levy for future budgeting.
“Right now, they're projecting at least recommending 5 additional positions be added,” Slattery stated.
The final executive summary will be presented to the chief of police and the city/county commission within the coming weeks, before the county decides the best plan moving forward.
