Chicago Budget Includes Personnel Cut-Backs

The 2012 proposed city budget by Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel would make significant personnel cuts to the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), and makes up the difference by making dispatchers work overtime. At a budget hearing yesterday, OEMC executive director Gary Schenkel said the budget included $3.2 million in overtime pay to cover positions that will be eliminated. But Jeff Johnson, steward of the union that represents the comm center’ fire dispatchers, said the overtime might increase the already-high burn-out rate for dispatchers. The proposed budget for 2012 includes eliminating 26 fire and 45 police dispatchers, five supervisors and 22 radio technicians. During the hearing Schenkel said sufficient staffing levels are always a moving target. He implied that dispatcher absenteeism is making the staffing problem worse. He noted that 15 percent of floor job positions are absent on some days. “If i could get those 41 people back to work, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this situation,” he said. Read more about the budget here.