CHENEY – At the council meeting on July 23, City Manager Mark Schuller provided an update on the new contract for Teamsters Union Local 690, covering the transition of former dispatchers to police support specialists for 2024-2026.
This transition is part of the city’s integration into a regional dispatch system.
“This is your first look at the draft agreement with the Teamsters,” said Schuller. “The Teamsters represent our former dispatchers, now transitioning to police report specialists.”
The new roles for police support specialists include managing police department records, handling evidence, and overseeing technology systems.
• Records Management: Specialists will process all public records requests, which make up 60% of the city’s total requests, including police reports and bodycam footage. The use of smart software aids in redacting sensitive information, but manual review remains crucial.
• Evidence Handling: Responsibilities include maintaining the evidence room, collecting and logging evidence at crime scenes, and transporting it as needed.
• Technology Liaison: Specialists will maintain legacy systems and coordinate with IT providers to address hardware and software issues.
“This has been the most unique negotiation I have ever been to,” Schuller emphasized, highlighting the transition from a local dispatch center to the regional system.
Schuller outlined the goals for integrating these specialists into the police department: better community service, meaningful job roles, and reducing the records manager’s workload.
“Our goals were: how could these bargaining members contribute to better serving the community; how could we create meaningful positions for these folks in this bargaining union, make their jobs interesting, to make them rewarding, and to integrate them more into the police department as a whole,” he said.
The contract includes a change in job titles from dispatchers to police support specialists and a salary increase of 10%, raising wages from $4,418-$5,372 per month to $4,859-$5,910 per month. Senior police support specialists will earn 10% more than regular specialists.
Schuller noted that previous dispatcher salaries were significantly lower compared to similar positions in cities of comparable size, by 14% in 2023 and 16% in 2024. The changes aim to retain skilled workers.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
Reader Comments(0)