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West Bend council approves 2026 dispatchers and clerical union agreement; wage increases capped by state law
Summary
Council approved a 2026 collective bargaining agreement with Dispatchers & Clerical Union Local 503 that applies a 2.64% CPI-based adjustment for clerical staff and consolidates dispatcher pay grades with a 2% COLA, establishing a new dispatcher base wage of $31.44/hr effective Jan. 1, 2026.
The West Bend Common Council approved the 2026 collective bargaining agreement between the City and Dispatchers & Clerical Union Local 503 during the Dec. 1 meeting.
City staff explained the agreement was constrained by state law (Act 10), which limits bargaining for this unit to wages tied to the consumer price index; the clerical portion receives a 2.64% cost‑of‑living adjustment. For dispatchers, the agreement consolidates three pay grades into two, moves employees up one grade where eligible and adds a 2% cost‑of‑living adjustment, producing a new dispatcher base wage of $31.44 per hour, with the contract effective Jan. 1, 2026. Jesse, who presented the agreement to the finance committee earlier in the evening, said the increases were already accounted for in the 2026 budget.
The finance committee and the council approved the agreement by voice vote as part of the consent agenda. There were no recorded oppositions reported in the meeting minutes.
The agreement and related materials are included in the council packet.
(Notes: transcript contained a date typo of "01/01/1926" when the presenter corrected to 01/01/2026; this article uses the corrected 2026 effective date as stated later in the presentation.)
