West Virginia governor signs bill to better retirement benefits for 911 workers [Video]

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) on Tuesday signed a bill looking to make retirement for 911 workers more accessible than ever in the Mountain State.

The bill allows 911 operators and dispatchers to be seen as first responders with the benefits that come with that. This includes allowing them to retire with 20 years of service at 50 years old.

“I had to go over to him, said, ‘You did a really good job. You only have 42 more years to go before you can retire,’,” said John Rutherford, Executive Director of Metro 911. “And I would lose that employee because they think, ‘I can’t do this for 42 years.’ But now they can look at 20 years, or if they’re here ten years, I only got ten more years to go.”

The bill goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.