Beaverhead County considers adding dispatchers to sheriff’s office contract, flags vacation payout and budget impact

Justin Huff, a field consultant for the Montana Federation of Public Employees, presented a proposed amendment to the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office employee contract that would formally include public safety communication officers — commonly called dispatchers — in the county’s sheriff’s office employees association. Huff said the change mostly reflects a name and coverage update and that functionally “very little has changed from previous contract to this one,” while pointing to specific edits including recognition of deputies, sergeants and public safety communicators.

The nut graf: Commissioners and dispatchers concentrated on three practical issues before any final action: (1) vacation payout language in section J (page 19) that would allow annual payment for accrued excess leave; (2) adding dispatchers to existing education and certification incentive pay; and (3) how to fund the changes within the county budget. The contract printout also contained formatting and page-number errors staff said would be corrected before signing.

Dispatchers described chronic staffing pressures that make taking vacation difficult and urged limited or conditional payout options. As one public safety communication officer put it, “Not really at the staffing level that we are at right now,” when asked about using vacation time. Commissioners expressed concern about incentivizing employees to defer leave and discussed requiring documentation that a requested vacation had been denied before allowing payouts.

On training and incentive pay, the group reviewed language that would extend the $40 monthly education and up to $150 per month certification incentives currently paid to deputies to eligible dispatchers. Participants confirmed there are six dispatchers and ran preliminary math on education and post-certification incentives; commissioners and staff estimated the incremental annual cost for the group’s reported credentials would be about $7,200, with some uncertainty depending on one unconfirmed associate degree and whether EMT or instructor qualifications are treated as specialized training.

County staff and commissioners flagged the printed contract’s table of contents and page numbers as incorrect and said those formatting issues must be resolved. Commissioners emphasized that any recurring costs need a funding source in the budget before the contract is finalized; staff noted one-time funds had been discussed for other facilities needs and that reallocating money (for example from coroner or shelter budgets) would affect other services.

There was no motion or vote during the discussion. Commissioners said the contract presented “very few changes” but asked staff to circulate corrected copies and to return with clarified language and confirmed personnel documentation (copies of degrees/certifications) before implementation. Staff indicated the pay changes could be made effective with the next pay period once documentation is on file.

The commission deferred signing pending contract edits, budget confirmation and final documentation; no formal action was recorded at this meeting.