Dispatchers settle on three-year deal, raises

by JOHN LASKO

News-Times reporter

After working without a contact since Dec. 31, 2006, Amherst's five full-time police dispatchers have finally settled on a new three-year contract with the city.

By a 6-1 vote, council members approved the new contract at the Monday, June 2, finance committee meeting.

"Negotiation is give and take, in order to get something, you've got to give something and if you look at these contracts for the most part, Amherst does not have to take a back seat to any city in the county in terms of what we pay their employees," mayor David Taylor said. "We want to be fair with them but there's a point to what we can afford and when (council president) John Dietrich, (safety-service director) Dennis Clotz and I go in there, we know whatever we give up, we are going to have to sacrifice from someplace else."

Currently, full-time dispatchers are working under their old contract which states the starting hourly wage is $14.82. Wages increase depending on the amount of time they work at the police department.

Under the current contract, after one year of employment, wages increase by 92 cents to $15.74 per hour. After two years, it by 93 cents to $16.67 per hour and after three years, wages increases by a $1.39 to $18.06 per hour.

Once Taylor and North Royalton-based Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association leaders sign the new deal, the five full-time dispatchers can expect to see a 3.75 percent retroactive increase for the hours they worked beginning on Jan. 1, 2007.

"We tried to be fair with them during the whole process and I believe we were and all of the negotiations ended in an amicable atmosphere, so while sometimes I feel we gave too much, I understand that negotiation is a process of give and take," Taylor said.

With the new increases in pay, a dispatcher who started in 2007 is now making $15.38 per hour, which means they are owed a total of 56 cents for every hour they worked in back pay throughout the year.

After a year of employment, this dispatcher can also expect to see an additional 3.75 percent increase, or a 59-cent increase in their paychecks this year, which will be retroactive to January. After two years, their wage will go up again by an additional 3.75 percent, to $17.30 per hour and yet again in their third year by an additional $1.44 to $18.74 per hour.

Dispatchers who started with the department this year are now making $15.96 per hour, which means they are owed a total of $1.14 for every hour they worked so far this year.

After one year, their wage will increase by 98 cents to $16.94 per hour. Then after two years with the police department, their wage goes up to $17.95 per hour and they will receive an additional $1.49 raise to $19.44 an hour in their third year of employment.

Dispatchers who start with the police department in January, 2009 can expect a starting salary of $16.56 per hour.

After one year on the job, their wage will increase by $1.02 to $17.58 per hour. Once they hit their two-year tenure, they will make $18.62 per year and after three years of employment, their wage increases by $1.55 to $20.17 per hour.

For example, if a dispatcher started in January, 2007 and if they logged a total of 40 hours for the next 52 weeks in a year, it would equal 2,080 hours. At the retroactive rate of 56 cents per hour multiplied by 2,080 hours, it means the city owes them $1,164.80.

One provision which will stay the same is the additional compensation dispatchers will receive if they hold any degree in a business or law enforcement field.

If a full-time dispatcher holds an associate's degree, they will receive a one-time payment of $300 per year. A bachelor's degree will earn a dispatcher $600 per year and if they hold a master's degree, a dispatcher can expect to see an additional $900 per year.

For those full-time dispatchers who have been with the police department for five years or more, they will receive an increase in their longevity pay to $8.50 per hour effective July 1, 2008. Their pay will then increase yet again by another 50 cents to $9 an hour on July 1, 2009.

"We also changed some of the language in order for them to start complying with substance abuse training. We had some discussions regarding double back pay, if someone needs to double back on their shift, we agreed to pay that at time-and-a-half," Taylor said.

Dispatchers will now receive 160 hours of vacation time for being with the department for 15 years, instead of 18 years as stated in the previous contract.

"Right now we are paying these dispatchers $600 and they have a $100 option as a clothing allowance, so if they want to wear a blazer or something like that, that's $700, " Taylor said. "We took off the blazer and split the difference so now we made it $650 in clothing allowances."

"(In order to commute for any) education or training, we will give them the choice of taking an unmarked car or if they have to take their own car, we will pay the IRS mileage," he added.

For the first time, dispatchers will now be contributing $31.25 a month, not to exceed $750 a year, toward their health care premiums.

They also agreed to pay $2 for generic prescriptions, $5 for preferred medications and $7 for the non-preferred plan.

"What we are going to do is give them their retroactive check and deduct the first six months since their new health insurance premiums when into effect last January, so that they will be even with everyone else (who works for the city)," Taylor said.

The new contract expires Dec. 31, 2009.

Yesterday Taylor, along with a union representative for the part-time police dispatchers sat down at city hall in order to fine-tune their contract details.

"The part-time dispatchers didn't want to settle until we got the full-time ones completed," he said.

Council will probably review the contracts at their July 7 meeting.