Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Dispatch Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hears proposals to raise dispatch pay and offer retention incentive for 911 center
Summary
City staff presented pay-range reclassifications and a $4,000 retention incentive proposal for Lincoln Emergency Communications Center (LECC); union representatives said the increases are a step forward but urged higher parity with transit dispatchers.
City staff told the Lincoln City Council on June 2 that pay-range changes and a retention incentive are intended to address staffing and retention issues at the Lincoln Emergency Communications Center (LECC).
Barb McIntyre, the city's Human Resources director, said the proposed changes include moving the pay range for the emergency communications head from M05 to M07; reclassifying public safety dispatchers from C19 to C20 (affecting 27 employees), senior public safety dispatchers from C25 to C28 (affecting 11 employees), and supervisors from C31 to C32 (4 employees). McIntyre said the combined cost for the presented changes, including related items on the agenda, was $133,542 and that the budget can absorb the increases.
McIntyre also described a proposed $4,000 retention incentive for current LECC staff, to be paid over three years and implemented with agreement from the union.
Michelle Selvidge, speaking for the Lincoln City Employees Association (LCEA), said the union supports the proposed increases and the retention incentive but urged further action. Selvidge said starting pay in the C19 range for public safety dispatchers remains lower than the transit dispatcher classification and recommended at minimum parity at C21. The union argued dispatcher duties (life-saving medical instruction, complex multiagency coordination and 24/7 coverage) justify higher pay.
Chief Sean Morrow of the Lincoln Police Department said the personnel board's change was a step forward and acknowledged more conversations would be needed to address remaining concerns. Morrow and HR staff described expanded recruitment steps, including always-open applications, more academy classes, candidate testing accommodations and partnership efforts with Southeast Community College aimed at creating career-pathway training.
The items were presented to the council for consideration; council members asked about affected headcount, recruitment and training measures, and whether the budget could support the changes. The transcript records discussion and public comment in support of further increases; it does not record a final council vote on these items during the excerpt provided.
