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Council approves new combined tech-and-dispatch position in police department
Summary
The West Bend Common Council voted to update the Police Department staffing structure to combine an IT/technical-services role with a dispatch supervisor position, eliminating one dispatch post and projecting modest net savings while shifting duties.
The West Bend Common Council on June 2 approved an update to the Police Department staff structure that combines a technical-services position and a third dispatcher slot into a single role that will supervise dispatch operations and handle IT-related tasks.
The change, presented by the Police Department, is intended to create a direct supervisory span of control in the dispatch center while retaining technical capacity to support next-generation 9-1-1 and other communications upgrades. Chief Dearing said the move is not asking for additional funding and that the department expects to launch the hiring campaign immediately if the council approved the restructure.
City officials described the new job as a hybrid: it would perform advanced technical work previously covered by a technical-services position while adding formal supervisory responsibilities for the dispatch center. Captain Grinwald and department staff led internal review work and a third-party consultant assessment used in developing the recommendation.
Chief Dearing told the council the city’s salary consultant and internal analysis put the new position at about the 65 pay level (with the department having been open to a 70 level), and that combining the two positions removes a full dispatch slot that, with benefits, represents roughly $122,000 in salary-and-benefit cost for the position being eliminated. The department estimated a net payroll savings in the near term of roughly $36,000–$44,000 depending on the final hire level.
Council members who spoke in support said the change was the product of extensive review and that the role would provide accountability, audits and advocacy for the dispatch center. The council voted in favor of the staff-structure update; the department indicated it would post the position to both internal and external candidates and begin recruitment the next day.
The council record shows the department’s rationale centered on two operational priorities: staffing a dispatch supervisor with technical competence to reduce single-person institutional knowledge risk, and preparing for technical upgrades including next-generation 9-1-1 and SCNET.
Implementation steps described at the meeting include posting the job, accepting internal and external candidates, and final hiring subject to normal personnel procedures. The council did not attach additional funding to the position; officials said the move would reduce the department’s overall benefit footprint.
The change is effective upon hiring and administrative implementation; no ordinance or change to civil-service rules was presented during the discussion.
