How to become a 911 dispatcher in Maine

Pay at the Portland Regional Communications Center (PRCC, City of Portland; serves Portland and South Portland)

Each city and county sets its own pay. This is the official scale of the Portland Regional Communications Center (PRCC, City of Portland; serves Portland and South Portland), the largest city's agency.

Telecommunicator scale in the city's 2024–2026 communications contract: $29.48/hr as a recruit, $39.21/hr at 20+ years (hourly × 2080).

Source:[content.civicplus.com]

Pay for this work across Maine

Federal survey figures for public safety telecommunicators in Maine, counting every employer in the state, public and private, so they differ from any one agency's pay scale above.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates (all employers)[bls.gov]

Requirements

• Education: No state minimum; PRCC (City of Portland) Telecommunicator job description: graduation from high school or any equivalent combination of experience and training
• ESCB Rule Ch. 1 §3-A(A): all full-time public safety dispatchers must complete the Bureau-approved Basic Public Safety Dispatcher Training Course at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy within the first 12 months of employment (Bureau may extend up to 180 days for good cause)
• Ch. 1 §3-A(B): all full- or part-time dispatchers at a PSAP must complete a Bureau-approved course on PSAP 9-1-1 equipment and call handling within 90 days of assignment; may take calls before that only under immediate supervision of a certified dispatcher
• Ch. 1 §3-A(D): at least 12 hours of Bureau-approved continuing education each year, including annual TTY/TDD refresher training
• Ch. 1 §3-B: certification is issued for two years; recertification application due within 90 days before expiration; certificate may be revoked or suspended for a crime or misconduct after a hearing
• Mandatory PSAP call-taker curriculum also includes Emergency Medical Dispatch (24 h) and Emergency Fire Dispatch (16 h) certification; full-time staff at dispatch-only (non-PSAP) centers must take the Emergency Telecommunicator Certification
• Employing agency must notify the Bureau within 30 days of appointing a new dispatcher; the notice is the application for admission to training

Source:[content.civicplus.com]

Hiring process

1. Application
2. Job assessment testing (minimum typing 30 net wpm)
3. Polygraph examination
4. In-depth background and credit check
5. State Bureau of Identification / FBI background check and fingerprint submission
6. Agency notifies ESCB within 30 days; Basic Public Safety Dispatcher training within 12 months

Required training

104 hours minimum. Bureau's Mandatory PSAP Call Taker Certification Curriculum, taken consecutively at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy six times a year, tuition-free: Emergency Telecommunicator Certification 40 h + Emergency Medical Dispatch Certification 24 h + Emergency Fire Dispatch Certification 16 h + EMD & EFD ProQA Software Training 8 h + NG911 Equipment and ESCB Policy Training 16 h = 104 h (sum computed). Dispatch-only center staff need the 40-hour Emergency Telecommunicator Certification. Only students employed by a Maine emergency dispatch agency may enroll.[maine.gov]

Pension and retirement

• Plan: Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) - PLD Consolidated Plan, Special Plan 3C (City of Portland telecommunicators)
• Benefit formula: Plan 3C: two-thirds (66.67%) of average final compensation (average of three highest years) after 25 years of service, plus 2.0% of AFC for each year of service beyond 25
• When you can retire: Plan 3C: eligible after 25 years of service regardless of age (otherwise regular PLD normal retirement age: 65 if first contributed on/after July 1, 2014, 60 if before)

Source:[mainepers.org]