Lake County Commissioners approved a resolution supporting the Classification of county 911 telecommunicators as Class B Member of the South Dakota retirement system. 

Across South Dakota, 911 telecommunicators are classified as Class A members under the SDRS, while law enforcement and emergency medical services receive Class B (or Public Safety) status. This impacts the 911 dispatchers contribution rates, retirement age, and early retirement benefits. 

In order to be reclassified, the SDRS requires written approval from each employer and appointing authority, in addition to other requirements. 

Class B criteria require that positions be full-time, that primary duties involve the protection of life and property, that the work requires intensive and specialized training, that duties are hazardous and demanding with exposure to risk, and that the ability to perform those duties declines with advancing age in a a way that increases risk to both the employee and the public. 911 operators contend that their work aligns with these criteria. 

The resolution passed by the county says in part, “that the Lake County Commission strongly encourages the South Dakota Retirement System Board of Trustees to reclassify the county’s 911 telecommunicators as Class B Members.”

The final determination rests with the SDRS Board.