Dispatcher Grievance May Lead to New Hiring

A union grievance filed in 2007 by Phoenix (Ariz.) fire dispatchers has worked its way through the city bureaucracy, and prompted a city study of comm center staffing that may lead to additional job positions. The dispatchers complained that incidents have increased 73 percent since 1997 with the addition of dispatching duties for several other jurisdictions. In particular, the dispatchers now handle EMD duties, which is very time consuming. The center has recently hired 10 new dispatchers to augment the staff of 73, but the study by the city’s Budget and Research Department may prompt the city to raise its per-call fees to other cities from the current $23.12 per dispatched incident. Read more about how staffing and budgets are intertwined here.