PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

La Crosse County • La Crosse, WI

22h • Onsite

About The Position

This is a specialized, non-sworn, safety-critical public safety communications position responsible for receiving, evaluating, prioritizing, documenting, and routing emergency and non-emergency requests for law enforcement, fire, EMS first response, emergency management, and related public safety services. The Public Safety Communications Specialist serves as a communications link between callers, responders, partner agencies, and the Public Safety Communications Center, using telephone, NG9-1-1/text/data tools, radio, CAD, mapping/GIS, logging systems, alerting tools, and other authorized technologies. The position requires extensive training, sound judgment, emotional control, clear communication, confidentiality, and the ability to work accurately in a 24-hour, high-stress emergency communications environment. Employees work under close supervision while in training and exercise increasing independent judgment after demonstrating competency. Work is performed in accordance with County policies, PSAP policies and Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs), adopted public safety communications standards, CJIS/TIME requirements, and local agency protocols.

Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited high school, or GED equivalent.
• Must successfully complete a law enforcement/public safety background check suitable for work in a public safety communications center and for access to criminal justice information systems as assigned.
• Must successfully complete required pre-employment testing, interview processes, and job-related communication, hearing, vision, typing, or skills evaluations required by the County, with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Must satisfactorily complete the prescribed Public Safety Communications Specialist training program, including classroom, simulation, system, and on-the-job training components, and serve the required probationary period.
• Must obtain and maintain all County, PSAP, state, federal, and system-access training or certifications required for assigned duties, which may include TIME/CJIS/NCIC-related access, CPR/T-CPR or other lifesaving-instruction training as adopted, NIMS/ICS, cybersecurity awareness, ADA/accessibility, language-access procedures, missing/endangered children response, local systems training, and agency-approved call-taking/dispatch protocols.
• Ability, with or without reasonable accommodation, to receive, interpret, and communicate voice, text, visual, audible, and data-based emergency information accurately and promptly.
• Ability to speak clearly, listen actively, control call flow, ask concise questions, summarize information accurately, and communicate over telephone, radio, CAD, and written/electronic systems.
• Ability to prioritize competing emergency and non-emergency tasks, make sound judgments under stress, and adapt quickly to changing information or operational conditions.
• Ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously while maintaining accuracy, situational awareness, responder safety, and professional communication.
• Ability to document information objectively, accurately, and promptly in CAD, logs, forms, messages, or other approved systems.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality, information security, CJIS/TIME compliance, and appropriate need-to-know/right-to-know standards.
• Ability to use approved accessibility and language-access resources to provide effective service to callers with disabilities, limited English proficiency, or other communication needs.
• Ability to work effectively with the public, coworkers, supervisors, responders, partner agencies, and County officials in a courteous, respectful, and business-like manner, including during stressful or emotionally charged situations.
• Ability to accept feedback, participate in QA/QI and training processes, and apply coaching or remedial instruction to improve performance.
• Willingness and ability to work varied shifts, weekends, holidays, mandatory overtime, short-notice call-in, and extended hours as needed to maintain 24-hour operations.

Nice To Haves

• Prior emergency dispatching, call-taking, public safety, emergency services, customer service, military, healthcare, or related high-stress communications experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Receives, evaluates, prioritizes, and processes emergency and non-emergency requests received by 9-1-1, administrative telephone lines, radio, text-to-911, real-time text or relay resources where available, CAD, data interfaces, and other approved communications systems.
• Determines and verifies, as early and accurately as practicable, incident location, callback information, nature of the problem, priority, hazards, involved people, responder-safety concerns, accessibility or language needs, and appropriate dispatch or routing action.
• Creates and updates CAD calls, incident narratives, status changes, dispositions, notifications, and related records in an accurate, objective, timely, and professional manner, recognizing that records may be used for public records requests, investigations, quality assurance, court proceedings, or after-action review.
• Dispatches, pages, notifies, transfers, or routes law enforcement, fire, EMS first response, emergency management, and other public safety resources in accordance with approved run cards, agency protocols, PSAP policies, SOGs, and supervisor directions.
• Coordinates EMS-related call handling, first-responder dispatch, and handoff to the secondary PSAP/EMD provider in accordance with local workflow and assigned role.
• Monitors radio channels, unit status, responder location and safety information, emergency traffic, status checks, officer/firefighter distress events, mayday or emergency radio traffic, pursuits, field activity, and changing incident conditions; promptly relays critical safety information to responders and supervisors.
• Uses mapping/GIS, ANI/ALI or other location information, premise alerts, responder notes, warrants or cautions when authorized, and available emergency data sources to support location validation, jurisdiction determination, response selection, and responder safety.
• Communicates calmly, clearly, professionally, and compassionately with distressed, impaired, nonverbal, limited English, disabled, aggressive, abusive, or high-risk callers while maintaining control of the call and obtaining required information.
• Uses approved accessibility and language-access resources, including TTY/TDD, text-based communications, relay services, interpreter services, and other accommodations as available and appropriate.
• Performs multiple tasks simultaneously, including phone, radio, CAD, mapping, messaging, data entry, caller management, responder support, and information relay during both high-activity and low-activity periods.
• Operates and monitors assigned communications equipment and systems, including CAD, radio console, telephone/NG9-1-1 systems, paging and alerting tools, logging recorder access, mapping/GIS, AI-assisted or automated call-handling tools, state and federal information systems, and other approved technologies.
• Identifies, reports, and documents equipment, system, mapping, data, facility, or workflow problems; follows approved downtime or fallback procedures when systems are unavailable or degraded.
• Maintains confidentiality, information security, and appropriate system use; accesses, uses, or disseminates sensitive, criminal justice, medical, personnel, or operational information only for authorized business purposes and through approved channels.
• Participates in initial training, continuing education, quality assurance/quality improvement review, performance feedback, coaching, remedial training, after-action review, system-change training, and other competency-development processes as assigned.
• Supports subpoena, records, complaint, quality review, or court-related processes when authorized supervisory or records-management direction is received.
• In this public service position, employee is required to be courteous, cooperative, respectful, professional, and calm with the public, responders, partner agencies, coworkers, supervisors, and County officials.
• May perform administrative, clerical, records, public education, tour, project, training, or committee assignments as operational priorities and staffing allow.

Benefits

• Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS): A top-rated pension program.
• Affordable Insurance Premiums: Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.
• Generous Paid Time Off: Vacation, sick, and 10+ paid holidays annually.
• Work-Life Balance: Flexible schedules and wellness programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED