Kansas City 911 dispatcher pay jumps nearly 10%

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Long 911 response times have been an issue in Kansas City, Missouri, for years.

In September 2024, KCTV Investigates reported extensively on 911 hold times and found nationwide 90% of calls were answered within 15 seconds, whereas in Kansas City, only 42% of calls were answered in the same amount of time.

In an effort to recruit more qualified candidates and alleviate hold times, starting May 1, 2025, Kansas City will officially bump the starting pay for dispatchers.

In a Kansas City budget amendment, the city was given an additional $250,000 for 911 dispatchers. That money will increase call-taker pay and add over a dozen dispatchers to the call center rotation.

The starting salary for a Kansas City 911 dispatcher will be $52,068 starting May 1, 2025. That’s up nearly $4,000 per year from $48,132.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said these changes will make a difference increasing safety and security across the city.

“Over the past year, we found some creative ways to make sure that we had people sitting in those seats with the headsets answering those 911 calls. We want to make sure we have more than enough folks answering those phones, making sure we’re there for the people of Kansas City when they have an emergency.”

Roughly three years ago, Kansas City changed its residency requirements. You no longer have to live in the city to work as a 911 dispatcher.

RELATED STORIES: 911 Hold Times

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