In Jefferson County, when 911 dispatchers answer nature’s call, somebody else’s may go wanting.

With only six full-time dispatchers, it’s not uncommon to have just one person manning the system – most often when a staffer’s usual partner is on vacation or calls in sick. When the lone dispatcher’s bladder can’t take any more – and there’s no corrections officer to cover – 911 shuts down, however briefly.

”They say, ‘Hold off for station 19,’ and you know what they’re doing,” said Mark Carman, assistant fire chief of the Jefferson County Rural Fire Protection District. ”They’re going to the little girls room or little boys room.”

But the big question is, is it dangerous?

”Oh, yeah,” Carman said. ”I don’t want to say it’s Russian roulette, but an (urgent) call could come in at that time.”

Even neighboring Crook County, also a small community, always has somebody answering 911. ”Our phones are never unattended,” said Tobie Reynolds, county communications director.

Jefferson County’s problem has been common practice for years, and nobody’s been hurt, county officials say. A call has never gone unanswered, they say.

The bathroom is a short step away from dispatchers’ desk, breaks are short, and the phone’s within easy earshot, they say. Whenever possible, dispatchers try to get a corrections officer to cover.

But as the county grows and calls increase, the system may soon approach a breaking point, officials say.

”It’s getting near that crisis level, and we need to sit down as a community and decide what our (funding) priorities are,” said Sheriff Jack Jones.

The county dispatch system took in 5,497 emergency calls in 2003, according to 911 director April Stream. That’s up slightly from 2002, when 5,366 calls came in, she said. Calls from police, firefighters and ambulances numbered 16,111 in 2003 and 15,199 in 2002, Stream said.

Deschutes County, by comparison, receives about 60,000 emergency calls yearly.

Peak hours in Jefferson County vary. While weekend nights are generally the busiest, summer days can get hectic with accidents on Lake Billy Chinook, as well as winter mornings when cars get out on the roads, she said.

If there’s just one dispatcher holding down the fort during those times, things can get hairy, Stream and Jones said.

”It isn’t the best situation. We would like to have at least two people there” at all times, Jones said. ”I’ve seen them where they’ve got a phone in each ear and even their feet are doing something.”

”It’s like putting socks on an octopus,” Stream said. ”We’re short staffed.”

The emergency system has become even more overloaded with the advent of cell phones, Jones said.

”We used to get one or two calls” when an accident occurred, he said. ”Now, we’ll get one or two hundred. And you need to check in with each one because you never know when one of them will be a separate (emergency).”

The problem shows no sign of improving anytime soon – in fact, just the opposite. The dispatch system, which is managed by Jefferson County but also serves the cities of Madras, Culver and Metolius, is facing an $85,000 deficit this coming year – no small beans for an agency with a budget of roughly $360,000. Fiscal year 2004-05 starts in July.

Decreased state funding and depleted reserves account for the shortfall, Jones said. While the 911 district had been relying on healthy reserves to help fund operation, that money is now gone, he said. Added to that is a loss of about $50,000 stemming from the state Legislature’s raiding of 911 coffers – about $5 million – to balance the 2003 budget.

While the Deschutes County 911 Service District also lost about $70,000 from the state, a special operating levy of nine cents per $1,000 in assessed property value passed last year leaves the district in good shape, said Rick Silbaugh, assistant administrator. Crook County lost $30,000 but was able to absorb the loss with little problem, Reynolds said.

Jefferson County is not so fortunate. Lacking a levy, the county, cities, fire district and local ambulance service will have to pony up the $85,000.

It comes in addition to $188,000 in general fund revenue the six agencies already contribute yearly. The county and cities’ share will come out of sheriff’s and police budgets, officials said.

”It will be painful, and it will impact how we do business, but the world is not going to end,” said Madras Mayor Rick Allen. ”It may mean we don’t buy a new police car and the fleet gets a little older.”

The sheriff’s office has had to eliminate capital improvement such as replacing old computers entirely from its budget, Jones said. It’s also reduced spending on supplies and training, he said.

”You just hope and pray everything holds together,” he said.

The agencies who use the 911 system recently assembled a task force to address the problem. The group will explore ways to establish a more stable funding source as well as how to divvy up 911 costs more equitably.

”Some organizations have grown considerably but their funding (level) hasn’t changed” for years, Jones said.

The cities of Culver and Metolius currently contribute $1,625 yearly. Jefferson County and Madras pay about $86,000 each. The fire district and ambulance service pay $17,000 – $19,000 each.

A property tax such as Deschutes County’s will be one of the solutions the task force considers, Allen said.

”That definitely should be on the table,” he said. ”We’ve lasted this way for 10 or 15 years. But there’s no doubt as the (community) grows we’re going to have to come up with a new system.”

Jeanene Harlick can be reached at 541-408-2606 or at jharlick@bendbulletin.com.