Prince George's County homeland security seeks to stem 911 vacancies, add high‑school pathway to dispatcher jobs

The Prince George’s County Office of Homeland Security told the County Council’s Health, Human Services and Public Safety Committee on April 30 that its proposed fiscal 2026 budget is $47.1 million and that the office is continuing efforts to reduce vacancies in 911 call‑taking and dispatch positions.

David Williams, budget analyst in the county’s Budget and Policy Analysis Division, told the committee the total proposed Office of Homeland Security budget is $47,100,000, a decrease of $170,800 (0.4%) from the previous fiscal year, with 93.8% of the budget from the general fund and 6.2% from grants. Williams said compensation is proposed at $19.5 million, operating expenses $18.3 million, fringe $6.4 million and overtime $2.8 million; grant funds are proposed at $2.9 million, an increase of $622,700 (27%) from the prior year.

Director Ronald Gill, Office of Homeland Security, described core services the office provides, including 911 call services and dispatch, management of body‑worn and in‑car cameras, public safety records systems and countywide emergency management. Gill said the office’s FY26 staffing complement would be 219 full‑time general‑fund positions, 11 limited‑term grant positions and one part‑time general‑fund position.

Gill and analysts highlighted recent vacancy reductions in the emergency dispatch center: 37 vacancies in FY23, 22 in FY24 and 13 in FY25, a decline Gill called a “65% decrease in vacancies for emergency dispatchers and call takers from April 2023 to April 2025.” He said five incumbent call takers were enrolled in an apprenticeship and that successful completion would reduce vacancies further.

The office flagged rising costs for video storage and long‑term media retention; Williams said projected video storage costs are approximately $992,000. Gill said the office is enhancing the emergency operations center with federal grant dollars and is working regionally on CAD‑to‑CAD dispatch functionality and on an emergency 911 call registry scheduled to go live on 05/05/2025.

Gill described a new “pathway to work” initiative with Prince George’s County Public Schools. He said the Maryland State Department of Education approved the national basic 911 dispatch certification as an industry‑recognized credential to be embedded in PGCPS homeland security and emergency preparedness career and technical education programs. In phase 1, Gill said, all students in the program will receive the certification; phase 2 will pilot a blended learning internship for a limited number of seniors from Bowie, High Point, Parkdale and Potomac high schools, with lessons beginning in September 2025. "The intent is to have fully trained and qualified specialists who would then be eligible to become 911 specialists after they complete high school," Gill said.

Council members pressed the office on climate‑related preparedness and the agency’s dependence on federal grants. Gill said emergency management functions are integral to the county climate action plan and warned that if federal grant dollars are lost, emergency management staffing could fall by about 60–65% and funding by about 80%, because "most of our funding for training, for exercise, for our employees are tied to federal grama dollars." He said that with current federal support the office will continue training, planning and preparedness work.

Several council members also asked about pay and retention. Gill acknowledged regional salary competition and long training timelines — he said a new hire can take six months to begin answering calls and nearly a year to be fully effective — and identified salary differences and workload as drivers of turnover. He and OMB Director Stanley Early said classification review and budgeted adjustments on the low end of pay grades are being considered.

Why it matters: the Office of Homeland Security oversees the county’s first‑response communications and emergency management. Staffing levels, system upgrades and the office’s dependence on grant funding affect response capacity for weather events, multi‑jurisdiction incidents and countywide emergencies.

Looking ahead: the office will continue recruitment and apprenticeship efforts, pursue grant‑funded EOC upgrades and pilot the school certification program in September 2025. The committee was warned that grant funding risks could force programmatic reductions if federal resources are curtailed.