St. Joseph County dispatch executive director stepping down

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind.— The search is on for the next executive director for the St. Joseph County 911 Dispatch Center.

After heading the center since February 2016, Brent Croymans has decided to step down.

“Bringing multiple agencies under one roof happened under his watch,” said Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood.

These doors of the new St. Joseph County Communication Center opened in.

But officials say, eight months later, the service still isn’t truly consolidated.

“While they brought everybody under one roof, we’re still dispatching like we’re totally separate agencies,” said Mayor Wood.

Mayor Wood says that workflow isn’t efficient.

About 10,000 calls went unanswered last year according to the dispatcher’s union, and approximately $600,000 was spent on overtime.

Those numbers upset quite a few staffers, and last month, they rallied outside the County City Building for a relief.

Relief finally came two weeks ago as the executive board over the center approved three new hires instead of the 14 the union had asked for.

Among many duties, Croymans oversaw major system changes.

Now, on his way out, officials say there’s still quite a bit of work left to do.

So he might not go too far.

“Croymans has an IT background, he has expressed an interest in staying on in an IT role,” said Mayor Wood.