Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Joplin staff propose incentives, tech and pay adjustments to address dispatcher shortfall
Summary
City staff told council the dispatch center is about 10 positions short of its authorized complement and proposed a package of short‑ and long‑term measures: reassigning non‑emergency administrative calls, a $5,000 lateral hire incentive, targeted recruitment, recognition programs, a call‑transcription tool (~$10,000) and pay/compression fixes. Council members questioned whether the measures will be sufficient without larger pay changes.
City staff presented a multi‑part plan to Joplin City Council on Nov. 3 aimed at improving staffing and retention in the city’s 911 dispatch center, which staff said is currently “down 10 authorized positions from a max of 20.”
Mr. Edwards, speaking for a small working group that included chiefs and HR staff, outlined seven proposals: reassign some existing employees to take non‑emergency administrative lines to free trained dispatchers for 911 work; offer a one‑time $5,000 lateral incentive to experienced hires; institute a recognition program to improve retention; launch a targeted recruitment push for dispatchers, police and firefighters; buy technology (the preferred transcription/terminal tool cited at about $10,000 plus annual costs) to reduce dispatcher workload; pursue schedule improvements; and address pay and compression concerns so the city can hire experienced candidates.
Edwards said long‑term funding could come from a renewed sales‑tax proposition (referred to as Prop B) that staff views as a potential source to sustain pay increases and other public‑safety investments.
Council member Mr. Koppel pushed back about near‑term effectiveness. He asked what fraction of dispatch workload is non‑emergency; Cheryl Kornarski replied that without running detailed numbers she would estimate “about 75%” of the center’s functions are non‑emergency administrative calls. Koppel said reassignments and modest incentives might produce only minimal immediate relief and urged the city to pursue higher pay and more robust recruitment outreach to trade schools and community colleges. He also criticized a proposed recognition plan as insufficient, calling a token party a poor substitute for meaningful compensation.
Edwards acknowledged pay compression and said past internal equity changes limited the city’s near‑term flexibility to raise wages without creating compression; he suggested correcting compression for dispatchers as a short‑term measure and said renewing Prop B could provide a longer‑term revenue path to more competitive pay.
Council discussion touched on local market pay comparisons: staff cited nearby Newton County at roughly $21.50 per hour and Jasper County a bit higher than $22 per hour for comparable roles. Koppel urged caution about any approach that would leave dispatchers earning more than officers and said the city should weigh short‑term compression against broader recruitment goals.
What happens next: Council did not adopt formal changes during the informal session. Staff will refine cost estimates and funding options and return with more detailed proposals and numbers for council consideration in a later meeting.
