Collin County dispatchers who answer 911 calls for Allen Police are leaving at an accelerating rate, with turnover projected to jump from 27% to 36% in a single year.

The figures come from the county's 2026 Law Enforcement Compensation Presentation, heard by Collin County Commissioners Court on Monday, Aug. 3. A 36% annual rate would mean more than one in three dispatcher positions turning over during 2026.

The agenda item, submitted by Human Resources official Megan Mangum, benchmarks county salaries against Dallas, Denton, Tarrant, Bexar, and Fort Bend counties and against the cities of Plano, Allen, McKinney, Frisco, Richardson, and Garland, among others.

Allen is explicitly named as one of the benchmark cities, meaning the county is measuring whether its pay can compete with what Allen and other North Texas municipalities offer dispatchers.

No vote on pay adjustments was scheduled for Monday's session. Actual compensation recommendations will return to the court later, with pay changes for fiscal year 2027 to be decided during the September budget process.

Dispatchers vs. detention officers

The dispatcher turnover trend stands in sharp contrast to detention officers, who also saw 27% turnover in 2025 but are projected to drop to just 14% in 2026. That divergence points to a staffing crisis concentrated at the dispatch center rather than the jail.

Collin County Commissioner Shelby Williams, who represents Precinct 4, flagged the gap in a preview of Monday's agenda published Aug. 2.

"Dispatcher turnover is also at 27% for 2025, but projected to climb to 36%," Williams wrote. "Those jobs are important."

Why it matters for Allen

Collin County dispatchers handle 911 calls for law enforcement agencies across the county, including Allen Police. Staffing shortages at the dispatch center directly affect Allen's emergency response chain.

The specific dollar gap between county dispatcher pay and what Allen or other benchmark cities offer was not released in the agenda summary. The full compensation presentation, attached to the agenda as a PDF, contains that data.

What's next

Monday's presentation was informational only. Commissioners are expected to act on compensation recommendations during the FY2027 budget cycle in September.

Separately, the county faces an Aug. 17 deadline to place a possible $820 million bond package on the Nov. 3 ballot, headlined by a major jail expansion.