AUSTINTOWN Dispatchers contract

Here are some of the details about the new three-year contract for the Austintown police and firefighters' dispatchers union. The contract, approved by township trustees recently, covers the township's six full-time and two part-time dispatchers.
Salary: Dispatchers will receive a 3-percent raise each year. That means first-year full-time dispatchers will be paid $15.11 per hour this year and $16.03 per hour in 2005, the last year of the contract. First-year full-time dispatchers were paid $14.67 per hour last year. Full-time dispatchers with at least three years' experience will be paid $16.80 per hour this year and $17.82 in 2005; they were paid $16.31 per hour last year. Starting salary for a part-time dispatcher who has completed his or her probation period is $10.59 per hour this year and will be $11.24 per hour in 2005; first-year part-time dispatchers were paid $10.28 per hour last year. Part-time dispatchers with at least one year of experience will be paid $13.85 per hour this year and $14.70 per hour in 2005; they earned $13.45 per hour last year.
Overtime: The overtime policies were not changed in the new contract. Dispatchers work eight hours each day, which includes a 30-minute lunch break. After those eight hours, dispatchers are paid one-and-a-half times their hourly rate each hour.
Longevity:. Full-time dispatchers are paid $50 for every two years they are employed during their first 10 years. They receive the payments every two years. For example, after two years, a dispatcher would receive $50; after four years, $100; after six years, $150; and so on. After 10 years, they receive $100 for each two-year period that they have been employed. Under the new contract, if a dispatcher dies while working for the township, his or her surviving spouse or estate will receive the longevity pay. That provision was not included in the old contract.
Attendance incentive: The attendance incentive was not changed in the new contract. Dispatchers will receive $160 if they have perfect attendance for six months and $80 if they are absent one day during a six-month period.Clothing allowance. Each dispatcher receives an annual clothing allowance. Part-time dispatchers who work between one and 299 hours in a year are paid $200; part-time dispatchers who work between 300-519 hours are paid $250; part-time dispatchers who work at least 520 hours are paid $300; full-time dispatchers are paid $400. Under the old contract, dispatchers had to work for at least a year before receiving the clothing allowance.
Medical premiums: Under the new contract, full-time dispatchers pay $20 each for medical insurance per month if they are single or $30 each per month if their families are covered by township insurance. Under the old contract, the township paid the premiums. Part-time dispatchers do not receive health care from the township.
Prescription drugs: Under the new contract, each dispatcher pays $5 for generic drug prescriptions and $12 for brand-name prescriptions. Under the old contract, dispatchers paid nothing for generic prescriptions and $5 for brand-name prescriptions.
Township costs: Salary and benefits in the contract are expected to cost the township a total of $825,500 for the three years, while health care for the dispatchers is expected to cost the township $49,200 per year. Township Administrator Michael Dockry noted that health care costs most likely will increase when the township renews its insurance next spring.