A plan to restructure the 2017 MECA (Metropolitan Emergency Communications Association) budget to give dispatchers a raise won approval from the MECA board Tuesday morning. Karen Blevins, director of the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management, who also oversees MECA, said that dispatchers are getting harder to hire and keep because other areas are paying a lot more money.
What she has proposed is the elimination of two positions and shifting funds around so that veteran dispatchers would receive a one-time $2,000 increase to their annual salaries. The actions would result in a decrease in the amount currently approved for personnel expenses, Blevins said.
That means that dispatch supervisors, who are currently paid $30,876 annually, would see their salaries bumped up to $32,876. Those with less experience, designated as Comm 2, who are paid $27,125 annually, would receive $29,125. Many of the newest dispatchers would be paid $25,308, a $2,000 increase from the $23,308 they receive now. White Hall Mayor Noel Foster, who represents the 911 Board, said that his city is currently struggling to hire police officers and he understands the need to compensate the dispatchers. Pine Bluff Police Chief Ivan Whitfield agreed but asked what would happen eight months from now if MECA decided they needed to add those positions back.
Blevins said the current MECA budget provides funding for 32 dispatchers and the restructuring would result in 30.
“We can operate with 30 adequately,” she said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The MECA Board is made up of the Jefferson County judge, mayor of Pine Bluff, the Jefferson County sheriff, Pine Bluff police and fire chiefs, a representative of the 911 board and the Office of Emergency Management director. County Judge Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV, who is serving as chairman this year and who called the meeting, said that the additional funding is needed to keep people in the positions, while at the same time, being frugal and prudent.
The issue will still have to be approved by the Quorum Court. Lloyd Franklin Jr., a member of Wilkins’ transition team, asked about the decision to move the entering of misdemeanor warrants from district court to MECA. Sheriff’s Maj. Lafayette Woods Jr. said that was done in an effort not only to decrease the number of mistakes but also to potentially increase revenue.
“We’ve found that a lot of them had not been served which means lost revenue but by having the warrants right there, we can avoid the possibility that someone gets arrested and two or three days later we find out the warrant was cancelled,” Woods said.