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Board approves pay increases and new 12-hour schedule for public-safety dispatchers
Summary
To address retention and overtime, supervisors approved increased salary ranges for public-safety dispatchers and a side-letter changing schedules to alternating three 12‑hour shifts one week and four 12‑hour shifts the next; changes take effect March 1, 2025.
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors on Feb. 25 approved both a salary-range increase and a negotiated scheduling change for the county's public-safety dispatchers aimed at improving recruitment and retention.
Human Resources Manager Sabrina Mendez told the board the dispatcher classification has been difficult to fill and retain because of high stress and training requirements. She said the board's approval is intended to reduce overtime and turnover and support dispatcher wellbeing.
Approved pay ranges (as presented on the record): public safety dispatcher (range 12) $26,245.58 to $76,554.22 annually; senior public safety dispatcher (range 14) $68,625.76 to $84,401.03 annually; supervising public safety dispatcher (range 17) $79,442.89 to $97,704.73 annually. Mendez said the effective date for the salary changes is requested as March 1, 2025.
Mendez also presented a side letter agreed with the communications dispatchers’ bargaining unit to change the shift pattern to alternating three 12-hour shifts one week and four 12-hour shifts the next week. She said the change is already the preference of the dispatchers and is intended to provide more consecutive days off and reduce overtime.
Supervisor comments noted the long training time for dispatchers and the high cost of turnover; one supervisor described the position as “very stressful” and said monetary steps are a necessary component of retaining staff. Mendez said the county will monitor the schedule’s impacts and revisit it if problems arise.
Board action: Both the salary-range adjustments and the side letter were approved on a roll-call vote recorded as unanimous.
Speakers quoted in this article are on the public record in the board transcript.
