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Communications Divison
About the Communications Division
The Communications Division provides dispatch communications for all public safety organizations in Kendall County, which includes seven fire departments, emergency medical services, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Department, the Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department, the Boerne Police Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Department of Public Safety, and utilities personnel.
The City of Boerne is the host for the Communications Division and is responsible for the day-to-day operations and personnel for the dispatch center. All dispatchers report to Sergeant Khalid Alabaidi.
Division Responsibilities
The Communications Division manages, operates, and monitors:
- Emergency 911 calls and non-emergency calls;
- Radio dispatch for all on-duty police, fire, EMS, and utilities;
- Computer aided dispatch (CAD) system;
- Records management system (RMS);
- I-Info notification system;
- Active911 Fire/EMS paging system;
- The City of Boerne’s security camera system;
- The Public Safety building’s silent alarm system; and
- Walk-in traffic in the police department lobby after hours and on weekends and holidays.
The Communications Division is also responsible for entering, removing, and modifying persons, vehicles, and articles in the Texas Crime Information Center’s (TCIC) system and the National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC) system.
Division Operations
The Communications Division operates its multi-agency dispatch center under an advisory board comprised of members from the City of Boerne, Kendall County, and the City of Fair Oaks Ranch. Board members communicate throughout the year and meet formally three to four times per year to discuss the budget. Each entity represented on the board contributes budget funding based on its respective calls for service and documented traffic stops each year.
Division Statistics
In 2022, the Communications Division answered 29,327 emergency 911 calls in all of Kendall County. This includes City of Boerne, Comfort, Fair Oaks Ranch, etc.
The Communications Division generated 60,021 total calls for service with 25,682 being in the City of Boerne. This includes citizen-reported and officer-initiated activity. These calls are not just police-specific; they include fire, EMD, utility, and animal control calls.
Work at Dispatch
If you are interested in becoming a dispatch team member, these are a few things that you might want to know about the application process:
- All applications are processed through the City of Boerne Human Resources Department.
- Selected applicants will take a pre-employment exam, after which interviews will be considered.
- Those applicants completing an interview will then go through a background investigation.
- Once the interview and investigation processes have been completed, remaining applicants will be reviewed for placement.
- Depending on the number of applicants, estimated time from start to finish may run approximately three months.
Salary Grades
Current Salary Grades are:
- Probationary Dispatcher: $38,126.00
- Dispatcher I: $42,036.80 to $52,540.80 (Years one though six)
- Dispatcher II: $46,342.40 to $57,928.00 (Years six +)
- Dispatch Supervisor: $56,326.40 to $70,408.00
Dispatch Training
Dispatch personnel go through extensive testing and a public safety background investigation before they are hired. Entry-level personnel receive approximately four months of training before being released to function without the direct supervision of a communications training officer (CTO). CTOs are certified by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
Courses and Certification
All dispatchers must complete the 40-hour Texas Department of Public Safety course, which includes procedures for certification by the:
- National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
- Texas Crime Information Center (TCIC)
- Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (TLETS)
Training is provided by utilizing in-house resources and by outside companies designed specifically for dispatcher training.