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Show DispaSelers recwwsalary increase UfuU Mayor Dean S: Stahle said it has been the policy1 of the city to pay its employees a salary that will place - them in . me top - one-third of the -communities of comparable size along the Wasatch Front. Chief Higgins noted that it will cost about $5,500 additional to pay the salary increase through the remainder re-mainder of the fiscal year (June. 30) and about $12,000 annually in the future. He said funds for the salary increase are in the department's budget ' Mayor Stahle emphasized a need -for salary negotiations to be done during budget hearings, and not in the middle of the fiscal year. City Manager Tom Hardy noted that dispatchers have been doing the extra clerical work because there are slow periods each day for dispatchers dis-patchers to do this work. . "But this should not distract from the fact that dispatchers have the most stressful job in all of the city and they should not be among the lowest paid for their work," he said. "Vv; ''.3,; Mr. Hardy emphasized that although alth-ough the increased salary places the dispatchers at the top among other agencies, the difference amounts to only a few cents per hour. t He added that a survey is taken every three to five years to be certain cer-tain that city employee salaries are comparable (in the top one-third) among other cities along the Wasatch Wa-satch Front chers are also asked to do many duties du-ties that are not done by dispatchers ' in other Davis County law enfoi cement agencies. He said dispatchers ' type their -own reports as well as duty reports .of the police officers and handle walk-in traffic things which are -done by secretaries other than dispatchers dis-patchers at other local law enforcement enforce-ment agencies. "This substantially increases the , work load of the dispatchers and consequently places more burden and stress on them," Lt Taylor explained. ex-plained. He npted that the number of calls ."received ; at the police dispatch center increased by nearly 3,000 calls this . year over the previous year. : Police Chief Larry Higgins told the council that he has seriously considered asking the council for. secretarial assistance for the dispat-- dispat-- chers but felt that paying the existing exist-ing dispatchers more would be better bet-ter for morale and would work more efficiently. He noted that the survey conducted conduc-ted among dispatchers in other agencies involved 10 cities - five of them larger than Bountiful and five that are slightly smaller than Boun- By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL - Six female police dispatchers were granted a - salary increase of about 10 percent by a split vote of the Bountiful City ' Council last Wednesday night" The increase will lift the dispat- - chers' annual salary slightly higher than other, dispatchers along the Wasatch Front Before the pay raise was approved, the salary range for Bountiful police dispatchers was next to the bottom, explained Lt . Don Taylor. S The 3-2 vote followed a lengthy discussion between council mem- ' bers and those representing the dis- I patchers. Councilwoman Barbara ' Holt and Councilman Bob Gramoll voted against the pay raise "at this time." The council member-by-member vote resulted in a 2-2 tie with Coun-cilwoman Coun-cilwoman Phyllis Southwick cast- . ing the deciding vote in favor of the -pay raise. Council members voting against the pay increase emphasized that they did so not because of the need, for a pay raise but because "the -mid-year request put the council in a difficult and embarrassing situa-tion." situa-tion." , , Councilman Gramoll said he favored the pay raise because it's needed, but did not appreciate being put into a position of voting for one segment of city employees without being able to give consideration for the interest of all employees. Sgt Bill Collard told the council that the request came at this time because "the stress and low pay of the dispatchers is taking a large toll , and the turnover rate is much higher than in any other city department ' Lt Taylor said Bountiful dispart |
