Indiana: Raises Proposed for 9-1-1 Operators, Dispatch
Erin Blasko, South Bend Tribune (Indiana)
SOUTH BEND – The city’s emergency dispatch employees would see an immediate pay increase between 6 percent and 20 percent under a proposal by the mayor to increase their salaries to a level that is more in line with what other such employees in the state make.
Bill No. 07-13, introduced Feb. 11 and assigned to the Personnel and Finance Committee of the Common Council, requests an additional appropriation of $170,235 out of the general fund to pay for the increases for the remainder of 2013, beginning March 1.
The cost to sustain the increases beyond the current calendar year, including benefits, would be $204,282 per year.
The mayor is proposing that 9-1-1 operators, who earn between $31,506 and $35,722 now, make between $33,500 and $43,000; that supervisors, who earn between $41,955 and $42,512 now, make between $46,000 and $47,500; and that the assistant director, who earns $45,986 now, make $50,000.
The director’s salary – $56,541 – would remain the same.
The fact that the city’s emergency dispatch employees do not earn as much as many of their counterparts in other parts of the state came to light over the past several months, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said, as the city worked to establish a non-emergency 311 call center.
A handful of the city’s 9-1-1 operators brought the issue to the attention of the Common Council in December.
“As we built the 311 center, we realized our 9-1-1 operators were paid less than their peers,” Buttigieg said. “They have one of the most stressful jobs in government, and we wanted to make sure their compensation was in keeping with what you see around the state.”
According to information provided by the mayor’s office, 9-1-1 operators in Elkhart earn as much as $39,728, operators in Fort Wayne earn as much as $44,316, operators in Anderson earn as much as $43,278 and operators in Lafayette earn as much as $38,371.
The city’s 311 operators earn a maximum of $40,500 plus benefits.
Community outreach director
The measure also requests an additional appropriation of $67,182 out of the general fund to hire a director of community outreach and a part-time secretary in the mayor’s office.
The director of community outreach would earn $45,000 plus benefits, and the part-time secretary would earn $14.50 per hour for a total of 1,040 hours, or $12,567.
“We want to set up an outreach coordinator in the office to make sure everybody in the community, especially parts of the community that may feel underserved or neglected, has a voice in the mayor’s office,” Buttigieg said.
The part-time secretary would perform general duties in the office, Buttigieg said.
The Common Council could vote on the measure as soon as Monday.
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