Nicole Southworth: Setting record straight on why dispatchers leave Belknap County

To The Daily Sun,

As one of the current dispatchers at Tilton Police Department who had left Belknap County Sheriff’s Office in February of 2021, I would like to set the record straight regarding a comment made advising employees were leaving BCSO for a higher rate of pay. I left BCSO at almost $24 an hour, to transition to Tilton Police Department at a rate of $21 an hour, that is almost $3 less an hour than what I made at BCSO. The reason for my leaving the department was to remove myself from the highly toxic environment that was the administration at my time of employment. While the statement regarding leaving for a better quality of life is accurate, it was not the duties of the job that caused the quality to diminish, it was the inner turmoil within the building that became so overbearing that it caused mental and medical issues. If you reach out to current Belknap County deputies and area police agencies, you may also find where the support lies and why.

Nicole Southworth

New Hampton