Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
No action was taken, but future minimum-wage increases mandated by the state loomed large during discussions about pay for dispatchers during the Tucumcari/Quay Regional Emergency Communications Board meeting Wednesday.
Emergency dispatchers are paid $10.70 an hour, with more for those who no longer are probationary employees.
New Mexico’s legislature enacted a law this summer that will increase the minimum wage from $7.50 an hour to $9 by 2020, to $10.50 by 2021, $11.50 by 2022 and $12 by 2023.
Jamie Luaders, director of the Tucumcari/Quay Regional Communications Center and a voting member of the board, said to a packed room at the Quay County Commission’s chambers that few dispatchers become non-probationary because they often find other jobs.
“I think we need to offer more than we do,” she said.
Tucumcari Fire Chief Doug Hogan said, “One (dispatcher) went back to McDonald’s, flipping burgers, because it was less stress.”
Logan Police Chief Rodney Paris, the board’s chairman, said dispatcher pay is meager enough, along with its high-pressure duties, that many potential employees rather would stay at home. Luaders added many prospects also are unable to pass background checks.
Tucumcari Police Chief David Lathrom, describing dispatchers as “drastically unpaid,” said one solution was to increase the wage floor so that everyone has an increase during minimum-wage hikes.
“It’s a very simple thing to do,” he said.
Paris said he put dispatcher pay as a discussion item on the agenda Wednesday because it will have to be dealt with soon.
“What does a board do to make this happen?” Paris said of Lathrom’s proposal. “We have to be creative in a way to improve service to the taxpayers. Is it time to scrap the entire pay scale?”
Quay County manager Richard Primrose noted the county’s gross receipts tax doesn’t generate enough revenue to pay for dispatcher wages. Tucumcari city manager Britt Lusk also said he was concerned about wage “compression” on municipal budgets.
In other business by the board:
• It discussed whether names mentioned in radio transmissions during emergency calls violated privacy rules concerning health records. Paris said he researched the issue and found radio dispatches do not violate such regulations.
Hogan said an employee from Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari excoriated a dispatcher for dispatches including names, which he found regrettable.
“We can’t beat people down and expect them to keep working,” Hogan said.
• It heard about efforts to upgrade the center’s five computer-aided dispatch computers and fix its headsets and radios. Plateau Communications also was hired as the center’s information technology provider. The county’s emergency management director, Daniel Zamora, said updated data was needed for address points in Tucumcari, San Jon, Logan and House.
• In her director’s report, Luaders said she was worried about the center’s overtime budget. She said several dispatchers’ chairs had stuffing coming out of the padding that needed to be replaced or repaired.