At a July 16 work session, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) heard a proposal from Archuleta County Combined Dispatch Center Emergency Communications Director Devin Moffat concerning incentives to recruit and retain staff for the dispatch center.
Moffat opened the discussion by stating that the dispatch center currently has seven staff members, meaning that it is at about 50 percent staffing and is working to recruit new staff to improve staffing levels, as well as retain current staff.
He stated that proposed retention and recruitment initiatives would be funded by the approximately $60,000 the center has accumulated this year due to not being fully staffed.
He indicated that one of the initiatives discussed for retention is a $2,000 sign-on bonus, with $200 paid at hire date, $400 at the completion of call-taking training, $400 at the completion of radio training and $1,000 at the completion of a year of service.
Moffat stated that the center would offer a $3,000 sign-on bonus for those moving from another dispatch agency, with $300 at hire date, $600 at the completion of call-taking training, $600 at the completion of radio training and $1,500 at the completion of one year of service.
Another bonus being considered is a $1,000 referral bonus, he indicated, which would be paid to any current employee of the dispatch center who refers someone to the dispatch center once the referred candidate completes call-taking and radio training.
For retention of current staff, Moffat proposed that the center change overtime pay from 1.5 times normal pay to two times normal pay given the amount of overtime being worked by current staff.
He added that he is proposing creating a new level of positions within the center to give staff a sense of progression and advancement.
Moffat stated that new hires would begin as emergency communications dispatcher trainees and would be eligible to become an emergency communications dispatcher after completing training and working for one year.
He added that those with dispatch experience would be hired as emergency communications dispatchers.
Moffat stated that the center’s operations manager is working “above and beyond expectations to help cover shifts” and proposed shifting the manager position from a full-time exempt employee to a full-time nonexempt employee temporarily so that the manager could be paid for the extensive overtime they are incurring.
Commissioner Veronica Medina commented that she likes the idea for bonuses and asked what the incentive would be for employees to stay employed at the center after receiving the bonus.
She added that she would like a requirement that employees stay for a certain amount of time or have to repay the bonus or training costs.
Moffat stated that he made the bonus payable over increments to give an incentive for staff to stay at the center and that, after a year, another incentive would be that staff are eligible to be promoted from the trainee position to be a full-time emergency communications dispatcher.
Medina commented that Moffat should work with the Human Resources Department to ensure that this structure is in writing and understood by employees.
She then asked if Moffat had met with the Finance Department to ensure that the cost savings from being understaffed are as large as he expected given that some of these potential savings could have been consumed by paying overtime.
He stated that he had done so and that it is possible that, once the overtime budget is exhausted, money for overtime could come out of staffing, but that he expects that the incentives presented would not overrun the budget given the low staffing levels.
Medina asked if Moffat had any candidates in mind who might join the center with these bonuses.
Moffat indicated that he has two candidates starting within the next week.
Medina asked if either candidate was told about the bonuses, which Moffat stated they were not.
In response to a question from Medina, Moffat added that he also has another candidate who was previously not hired at the center due to them attending emergency medical technician (EMT) school at the time they applied.
However, he stated that they have now completed EMT training and are interested in working at the dispatch center.
Medina commented that is “really good” and asked how long Moffat believes these incentives will need to be kept in place.
She noted that the bonuses would be a “huge expense” for next year’s budget.
Moffat replied that he expects to keep the bonuses in place at least until the end of the year and would discuss further bonuses for the next year with the Archuleta County Emergency Communications Services Executive Management Board when he presents the 2025 budget next month.
Medina asked how much overtime Moffat would expect staff to incur until the end of the year with the center’s upcoming hires.
Moffat commented that is “hard to say,” but that the center currently has staffing that requires no overtime unless someone is sick or on leave.
“So, in essence, it’s not going to be a huge number,” Medina said.
“I hope it won’t be,” Moffat replied. “It does have the potential to go that way if we lose another person or if someone were to become ill or unable to fill the position.”
Commissioner Warren Brown thanked Moffat for his presentation and for “trying to work through this difficult situation. It’s always hard to see where we fall with retention and with recruiting.”
He noted that the other agencies that fund the dispatch center would also likely have to agree to these bonuses.
Moffat indicated that the dispatch board discussed the issue at a recent meeting and determined that incentives to increase recruitment and retention would be within the scope of the dispatch board and Moffat’s position.
He added that, if the commissioners express support for these initiatives, they could then move forward with implementing them.
Brown commented that the ideas Moffat brought forward are “good” for the “immediate future” and asked if Moffat considered working with county Human Resources to perform a salary survey to determine what a competitive wage for dispatch positions would be.
“If we work these people to death, there’s only so many hours in a day. We have to have a plan for an endgame that there will be relief coming, there will be a plan to put other staff in place so we’re able to relieve that pressure,” Brown said.
He also indicated support for a contractual agreement concerning the bonuses and for considering prorating the bonuses to recover a portion of the bonuses if staff quit before the contractually mandated period for the bonus ends.
Brown added that he feels the county should discuss if it would be viable for the county to seek legal recourse to recover these funds if staff leave the center before the contractually mandated period.
“So, I think there’s some things we just need to work out,” he said. “I think this is very creative. I like where you’re going with it.”
Commissioner Ronnie Maez commented that he liked Moffat’s presentation and ideas and also agrees with “the contractual side of it.”
“The one thing I do want to express to the dispatchers that you do have still — gratitude and thanks for them sticking it out, enduring and going through that,” Maez said. “This job isn’t an easy job. There’s no way in heck this is an easy job, not when somebody’s calling for help and needing an immediate response. It’s a stressful job. There’s always high turnover in this job. But, I think with these ideas that you presented — and it’s a good plan — I think we might have more retention in the future and, if the board is approving of it, I’ll support it.”
The meeting concluded with Interim County Manager Jack Harper indicating that he would work with Moffat, Human Resources and Finance to start implementing the proposals.
josh@pagosasun.com
