When the Fort Worth City Council made the historic decision to dissolve MedStar and switch to a fire-based EMS system this May, council members made a pledge to current MedStar employees: They would be treated as part of the Fort Worth family.

Months after that vote, what that concretely looks like for MedStar dispatchers remains up in the air. City management and the union representing Fort Worth firefighters have been bargaining since July over terms of the transition, including which incoming MedStar employees should be included in IAFF 440’s bargaining unit. The status of dispatchers, in particular, has become a point of contention.

In a Sept. 25 bargaining meeting, IAFF 440 President Michael Glynn bristled at a suggestion that dispatchers be classified as civilian employees rather than sworn and granted civil service protections. 

“They’re not just people taking a call and pushing a button,” Glynn said. “They’re helping to provide EMS care.”

Christopher Troutt, an attorney with the city, replied, “If you’re saying all dispatchers are providing EMS care, I’m not sure that’s correct.”

The exchange highlighted what has been a yearslong clash between city management and IAFF 440 over how to classify emergency dispatchers. Historically, fire department dispatchers have been sworn firefighters, and the union has argued that firefighters in dispatch are more experienced and better equipped to handle the stress of calls.

In the 2022 bargaining period, city management indicated it would consider hiring civilian personnel as dispatchers if it consolidated dispatch centers in the future, arguing that dispatcher is one of the few fire positions that doesn’t require sworn personnel. 

Now, a consolidated dispatch center is closer to becoming a reality. In an Oct. 1 emergency services committee meeting, Assistant City Manager Valerie Washington and Deputy City Manager Mark McDaniel told council members that staff have been evaluating spaces for potential consolidation. Washington said the police department is also supportive of using the 2026 bond program to fund the creation of a new facility for EMS, police and fire dispatchers.

“We’re working internally to support that and keep that as a high priority item as we have those conversations on the bond project,” she said.

In addition, the city has hired its inaugural 911 communications administrator, who will be tasked with helping manage the MedStar transition and reshaping Fort Worth dispatch operations as a whole. Washington declined to name the newly hired administrator, but said there will be a formal announcement later this week. 

“She’s got 25 years of working in dispatch centers,” Washington said of the new hire. “She’s familiar with fire, police, EMS and animal control calls. She’s well versed in training and staffing, and is ready to hit the ground running.”

Staff did not address the disagreement over dispatcher classification at the Oct. 1 meeting, but Washington told the Fort Worth Report that discussions will continue throughout the bargaining process. If IAFF 440 wants to bring on the MedStar dispatchers as sworn personnel, she said, they will also have to discuss if they will be working in a single or dual role. The plan approved by council is for current MedStar EMTs and paramedics to serve in a single role — meaning they will exclusively respond to medical calls.

“It did feel a little contentious when we were having that conversation, I will admit,” she said. 

IAFF 440 Vice President Zac Shaffer said the union would like to see incoming MedStar dispatchers in sworn positions. Previously, MedStar employees did not have formal union representation.

“We’re trying to run a professional streamlined agency, and we would like for all of the MedStar employees to feel like they came over with the same protections as the current (fire) employees,” he said. “And we’ve done our best to try to get their benefits and wages as close as they can be to the fire department.”

The union would like to see incoming MedStar dispatchers handling emergency medical calls exclusively, Shaffer said. The fire department could separate them into a medical dispatch center, where they could communicate with ambulances, while sworn firefighters continue handling fire calls. 

City Council will receive another briefing during the Oct. 8 work session concerning the EMS transition and the progress of its working group tasked with improving 911 call response times. City management and IAFF 440 will host bargaining sessions throughout October, the first of which is scheduled for Oct. 9.