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Dispatchers to see pay increases after county pay study; committee approves PSCC request
Summary
Public Safety Communications director Egbert Dykstra told the committee a local pay study found Elkhart County’s starting and supervisory dispatcher pay lagging peers. The personnel committee approved increases to entry and supervisory starting wages and modest raises to shift differentials to improve recruitment and retention.
Public Safety Communications director Egbert Dykstra told the personnel committee his department’s annual pay study found starting pay and supervisory starting pay at or near the bottom of peer counties. The committee approved his request to raise entry and supervisory starting wages and increase shift differentials.
Dykstra said the center lost seven dispatchers in the prior 18 months to neighboring agencies offering higher pay; replacing each dispatcher requires roughly four to six months of training and about $12,800–$14,000 in training costs. That turnover and the training expense shaped the proposal to raise pay to levels comparable with surrounding counties.
Key elements of the request - Entry-level communications technician 1 starting pay proposed to rise to $23.00 per hour (approximately a 15% increase from the current starting rate). - Communications technician 2 (post-training) proposed at $25.00 per hour. - Communications technician 3 (assistant shift supervisor) proposed at $27.54 starting. - Shift and training supervisor starting pay proposed at $29.38. - Midnight shift differential proposed to increase from $0.75 to $1.00 per hour; afternoon shift differential proposed to move to $1.50 per hour.
Dykstra estimated the pay package’s cost impact would be about $134,000 on the emergency telephone system fund and about $89,000 on the surcharge fund; the presenter advised the committee these figures are the projected departmental impact and are approximate. Committee members voiced support for annual reviews and said an ongoing, regular cadence of pay‑study adjustments could prevent similar catch‑up requests.
After discussion the committee moved and approved the PSCC request; staff will incorporate the changes into the 2026 salary ordinance and payroll schedules so the increases can take effect if the salary ordinance is adopted.
Speaker Egbert Dykstra, director, Public Safety Communications (PSCC).
