The local 911 and emergency dispatch program is expected to cost more next year, but there may be a way to ease the impact on taxpayers with the help of funds in reserve.

That was the message of 911 Coordinator Larry Haug to the government liaison committee Thursday.

The 2023 budget would look similar to this year’s $2.53 million budget but for a proposed increase in staff in Minot Central Dispatch and additional costs with the phone network, Haug said. The amount of those changes is uncertain yet.

He said Central Dispatch wants to increase its minimum staffing from 15 to 17 dispatchers. The other increase relates to equipment associated with the upcoming move of Central Dispatch to a new city hall building. The new site being renovated this year would have an additional dispatcher console, and Haug said there is interest in keeping phone lines live at the current location in the police station as a backup.

“We’ve tried to trim the fat off anywhere we can but it costs a lot of money to have a dispatch center. Some counties don’t have one. They go through State Radio. We have enough people in Ward County where I don’t think going without one would be an option,” he said.

Central Dispatch received 72,745 calls for service in 2021. Community Ambulance accounted for 10,093 calls; Minot Police, 36,481; and Minot Fire Department, 4,339. Other calls were for neighboring police, fire and ambulance services.

Haug said the 911 program has taken in more money than budgeted, ending last year with a $450,077 balance in an operations account. He said the intent is to look at allocating some of those funds to the additional expenses next year.

Annual phone fees budgeted at just over $1 million haven’t been enough to cover all the program expenses. The program collected $737,065 in property taxes in 2021 to help make up the difference.