Hanceville City Council members, from left, Patty Dean, Jimmie Ness, Mayor Kenneth Nail and Kim Brown at an October 29, 2021 council meeting.

HANCEVILLE — Although it doesn’t come with more pay or better benefits, the Hanceville City Council showed its support and respect for the work of its 911 operators by adopting a resolution that recognizes them as “first responders.” The resolution is part of a national movement to reclassify public safety telecommunicators from “office and administrative support staff” to first responder status.

“The public safety telecommunicators play a critical role in public safety, homeland security and emergency response along side police officers, fire fighters and emergency medical services,” the resolution says. “The council supports the 911 SAVE Act to properly classify the profession of 911 public safety telecommunicators.”

U.S. Reps. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) and Bryan Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) introduced the Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act to get the position reclassified with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Standard Occupation Classification System. According to the legislation, reclassifying the work of 911 operators “would correct an inaccurate representation in the Standard Occupational Classification, recognize these professionals for the lifesaving work they perform, and better align the Standard Occupational Classification with related classification systems.”

Mayor Kenneth Nail said of the city’s 4-5 911 operators, “I’m telling you, if you can work Hanceville City Dispatch, you can work anywhere.”

Councilwoman Patty Dean said, “They are the first contact in an emergency and if they can hold a good head, it can make a difference between life and death, without a doubt.”

In other business, the council appointed Councilman Jim Sawyer to the city’s Historic Preservation Committee but tabled making appointments to three other vacant seats on the committee. 

Nail said one thing he’d like to see the committee identify historic sites in the city and erect plaques detailing their history. “We’re losing our history every day,” he said. “A lot of this stuff, we’ve got to get it wrote down.”

Also, the council:

Reviewed the annual city audit which showed no issues;

Approved the surplus of city equipment, including a military tanker;

Reappointed Sheila White to a five-year term on the Hanceville Housing Board;

Appointed Edna Swann to the Hanceville Housing Board for a five-year term;

Announced that the city’s Trunk or Treat will be Sunday from 4-6 p.m.