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Campbell council weighs measure for civilian dispatchers, budget amendments
By Sarah Lehr
CAMPBELL
City council introduced legislation this week to replace auxiliary police dispatchers with civilians and to pare the 2017 budget.
The ordinance states the part-time civilian dispatchers will perform clerk duties in addition to running dispatch. The clerk-dispatchers will “relieve sworn officers from station duty,” the proposal states.
Mayor Nick Phillips and Police Chief Dennis Puskarcik requested the ordinance, which will come up for council’s final approval after two more readings.
Civilian dispatchers must pass a background check and would earn $10 an hour for no more than 28 hours per week without fringe benefits. In contrast, the rate of pay for city’s 15 auxiliary police officers ranges from $11.75 to $14.50 an hour without benefits. Auxiliary, or part-time, officers are at a step below full-time police officers.
“[It’s] so we’re not having officers making big bucks sitting behind the desk,” Council President George Levendis said of the proposed ordinance at a caucus meeting last month.
The mayor would appoint clerk-dispatchers on an as-needed basis.
Additionally, the council gave the first of three readings to amendments to its 2017 appropriations. Earlier this month, council passed a $9.8 million budget, but has since moved to trim the budget to about $9.6 million due to concern about a projected year-end deficit of close to $84,000 in the general fund.
In light of these financial concerns, Levendis has called for a freeze on nonessential spending until further notice.
Council did vote this week to spend $57,140 for a truck with snow plow. Levendis has said the purchase is necessary and pointed out that much of the money will come from the relatively healthy storm-water fund. The city also will pay $11,312 from the street fund to outfit the truck with a spreader, bed and lights.
In other business, council agreed to pay a $85,802 premium in 2017 to renew its public entities pool insurance.