Chicago Dispatchers Struggle After Cut-Backs

Dispatchers at Chicago’s (Ill.) 9-1-1 center are struggling to keep up with a flood of telephone calls and incidents in the first two months of the year after the mayor cut 55 positions, demoted three employees and laid off one calltaker to save money. The result has been almost constant overtime for dispatchers at the Office of Emergency Communications (OEMC), and an increase in the answer time for 911 calls. Mayor Ron Emanuel had wanted to eliminate even more positions for this year’s budget, but union negotiations reduced the number of cut-backs. Now, according to finance department records, police dispatchers worked 10,024 hours of overtime during last Jan.–Feb., compared to 5,247 hours in 2011, a 91 percent increase. Fire dispatcher overtime increased from 1,521 hours during Jan.–Feb. 2011 to 3,504 in 2012, a 130 percent increase. Part of the overtime increase stems from the expiration of an agreement last year that allowed compensatory time for overtime. Now, dispatchers can only receive pay for overtime. The city budgeted $3.2 million for fire department overtime this year, a figure that dispatchers says will likely be exceeded. Read more about the overtime and budget issues here.