3 5 08 Clerk's Skeleton NotesTO: JEANNE F. SCHNEIDER
CITY CLERK
YOU ARE HEREBY DIRECTED TO CALL A SPECIAL SESSION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL TO BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008, AT 6:30 P.M. IN
THE HISTORIC FEDERAL BUILDING FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING
VARIOUS FISCAL YEAR 2009 DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETS.
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CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL SESSION, MARCH 5, 2008
COUNCIL MET IN SPECIAL SESSION AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE HISTORIC FEDERAL BUILDING
PRESENT: MAYOR B~L, COUNCIL MEMBER$,BRAIG, COI~NORS, JONES, LYNCH,
RESNICK, VOE~,XBERG
CITY MANAGER~AN MILLIGEN
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ABSENT: ' /~ -~~ ``
Mayor Buol read the call and stated this is a special session of the City Council called for the
purpose of discussing various City departmental budgets.
Discussion of Departmental Budgets
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AyQs Nays
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Voetberg
Braig
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Jones
Ayes Nays
Lynch
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Braig
Buol
Connors
Jones
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Currently there we have 10 full time and 5 part time dispatchers. The
current practice relies on the part-time employees to fill in for fulltime
staff's earned vacation and comp time and training programs.
PROBLEM
Constant high turn-over of part-time employees is negatively impacting
our department's quality, liability and cost. Our practice of utilizing part-
time employees is simply not working. This effects four main areas:
Fulltime staff- resulting in cancelled or restricted earned vacations and
comp time, ongoing excessive overtime, and canceled training
programs.
2. Costs related to turnover.
3. Liability and risk to the 91 1 emergency community and the agencies
we support is increased.
4. Calculation for determining the department true manpower needs is
not accurate because it does not reflect this excessive turnover rate.
DETAILS
1. Turnover Causes Excessive Disruption
Turnover rate for staff in our E911 center has been over 65%. In 2007
alone, we lost 5 dispatchers. Over the past ten years we lost 13 of 23 part-
time to just 2 full-time dispatchers.
On average, it takes 3 to 4 months just to get the vacancy filled and 12
months to train apart-time dispatcher to be fully capable of handling a
position on his or her own. During the time frame when one ar more • ~ ~ °~•~ -
people are being trained, overtime costs for trained staff continue to rise
and requested for vacation, comp time and training programs continue
to be restricted and denied.
2. Part-timers unavailability
Part-timers that hold down other jobs are often not available or restricted
for scheduling, especially on short notice.
3. Department is used as a stepping stone
Job candidates responding to part-time vacancies often are using the
center as a stepping stone to law enforcement or fire/EMS careers. Lack
of fulltime opportunities make it difficult to retain employees.
4. Survey Results
Our 911 center recently sent out a survey to 62 other comparable
community 911 centers. The survey results support the fact that these
centers use few or no part-time dispatchers due to the same challenges
we are facing today. Over 80~ of Iowa 911 agencies comparable to
Dubuque, use few or no part-timers.
SOLUTION
In addition to the proposed 2 full-time positions, the FY2009 budget
recommendation would create the need to fill 2 part-time vacancies.
I'm asking this council to recognize our problem with part-time staff
turnover and I am respectfully requesting your consideration to replace
these part-time vacancies with full-time staff.
I feel this would be the beginning of proactively looking at the biggest
challenges facing our 91 1 center.
Respectfully,
John Callahan
Dispatcher
To: Honorable Mayor, City Council Members, and City Manager
From: John Callahan, Dispatcher,
Dubuque Emergency Communications Center
Subject: Staffing Issues
Date: March 5th 2008
As a twenty-two year employee of the Dubuque E-911 Communications
Center and second in seniority in this department, I take great pride in my
career and in the work our department has completed. Because of my
experience, I have intimate knowledge of the scheduling and staffing
challenges. It is my intention to utilize my knowledge and experience to
help the center obtain it's service goals and thrive as a positive place of
employment.
The purpose of this memo is twofold:
1) Provide you with a detailed perspective and background so that you
may make informed decisions regarding staff budgeting.
2) Present a recommendation that reflects the views and opinions of
myself and coworkers at the 911 center regarding a possible solution that
we feel addresses the root problem of the challenges that face the
center.
Before going any further though, I want to personally thank The City
Manager for listening and responding to the needs of our center by his
recommendation. of t~vo additional full tires dispatchers in the upcoming
fiscal year. The addition of these two positions will move us forward in a
positive direction that will provide improved service to our community,
responders, as well as to our citizens.
In addition to this increase in full-time staff we feel the need to address the
problem involved with utilizing part-time employees and incorporate a
proactive approach in filling vacancies.
BACKGROUND
Our requirements are to service 3 stations (Police, Sherriff, Fire/EMS). Ideal
staffing would be 3 full-time experienced dispatchers 24/7, with a fourth
dispatcher between our 3:00 pm and 1:00 am.
The key is to maintain a consistent experienced work crew.
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