Tulsa's 911 dispatchers are leaving. The shortage has not diminished the quality of service, say city leaders, but money may be a key reason it's hard to keep them.

City Manager Jim Twombly told me Tuesday there are 12 openings and 98 total employees.

"Some of it has to do with the starting pay that we offer. It's below market, so we've got a bit of a problem there," he said.

"I think because the pay is kind of low we don't always get the caliber of person we're looking for."

We wanted to know just how low the pay is. So we did a little research comparing the position to other city public safety jobs.

A cop makes a bottom salary of about $44,000 per year. A firefighter in Tulsa makes about $35,000 to start out. A 911 employee makes about $25,000.

Twombly says the job is high-stress and there are times when people don't make the grade because of that. But, there are also those who get the training from Tulsa, stay a little while, and then move on to other cities.

"Those are some of the things we're up against and we do churn through new employees because of that," said Twombly.

We asked if the city could pay more for the starting salary.

The matter is caught up in negotions with the local municipal employees union.

"Part of that bargaining is to increase the starting pay. Because we're talking about pay it does have to be bargained."

There is no word on just how long that may take.

EMSA dispatchers are separate from the city's crew, says Public Affairs Officer Chris Stevens. He says their personnel receive a different level of training. More on that tomorrow.