Oklahoma 9‑1‑1 Authority approves $250,000 recruitment campaign, moves $150,000 from reserves

The Oklahoma 9‑1‑1 Management Authority voted Feb. 9 to approve a statewide recruitment project aimed at filling vacant telecommunicator positions and to transfer $150,000 from reserves into the operations committee set‑aside to fund the effort.

The operations committee described a two‑part plan: a low‑cost landing page and live story map (built using Esri/Survey123) to list openings, locations, pay and contact information, and a paid social media and video campaign to direct candidates to that page. Staff said the landing page must be operational by Feb. 15 and that the total request for paid media and creative work would not exceed $250,000.

Lance Terry said the authority had already discussed using volunteers and in‑state resources for initial development but that the paid campaign would require contracted vendors. He said best practices include professionally shot video interviews of current telecommunicators and managers and demographic targeting to reach candidate pools.

Board members asked whether the content could use a separate domain (suggestions included a state workforce domain) and discussed recurring costs, oversight of volunteer support and the possible role of the State Geographic Information Office for long‑term maintenance of the map. The board approved both the recruitment appropriation and the $150,000 reserve transfer on roll calls.

Why it matters: The authority identified recruitment and retention as a top priority to ensure telecommunicators staff PSAPs statewide. The funding will support outreach, applicant direction to hiring PSAPs and reporting on openings.

What happens next: Staff will launch the landing page and story map by Feb. 15 and begin vendor selection and media placement for the social campaign. The authority indicated the campaign would be revisited annually to assess recurring costs.