Seven Warren dispatchers making move to county 911 center

Staff report

WARREN

Trumbull County commissioners have authorized hiring seven Warren police dispatchers to work for the Trumbull County 911 Center in Howland beginning Wednesday.

They are Bridget Coleman, Theodore Harrell, Kathleen Lapmardo, Elisha Massaro, Sandra Placanica-Frazeskos, Maggie Powell and Thomas J. Rush.

Each will be paid $16.02 per hour with full county benefits and will serve a 180-day probation period.

Ernie Cook, chief deputy of the Trumbull County sheriff’s office and county 911 director, said the county 911 center will make the switch Wednesday to begin handling Warren 911 calls.

The seven current Warren dispatchers will be used to communicate with Warren police officers over police radios as much as possible on every shift possible to make the transition as smooth as possible, Cook said.

The city expects to save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year by having the county handle police dispatching. Last week Cook believed that eight Warren dispatchers would move to the county, but one took another job with the city, Cook said.