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Commissioner Cole wins unanimous approval to hire two public‑safety dispatchers
Summary
The Saratoga City Council voted 5–0 to exempt the Public Safety Department from a hiring pause so it can hire two dispatchers; commissioners said staffing shortfalls and lengthy training timelines made the exemption necessary.
Mayor Safford called a brief meeting of the Saratoga City Council during which Commissioner Cole moved to approve an exemption to the city's hiring pause so the Department of Public Safety could hire two dispatchers.
"I move to approve the exemption to hire 2 public safety dispatchers per the recommendation of the finance leadership team as attached to my agenda," Commissioner Cole said, describing the motion in the meeting and placing it in formal motion.
Cole told the council the department's full staffing level for dispatchers is 12, that the department had been operating at 10 for several months and had dropped to nine after a recent resignation, and that hiring is urgent because it takes months to train new dispatchers. "The dispatchers handle all our emergency and non emergency calls for service, so it's a critical need for public safety," Cole said.
A council member noted the exemption had been reviewed with HR and staff, and that, given the technical training required, hiring was the best path forward.
The motion was seconded and the council voted; the measure passed unanimously, 5–0.
The council did not attach additional conditions to the authorization. No implementation timeline or specific recruiting steps were provided at the meeting.
