ELYRIA, Ohio — Some of Elyria's longest-serving dispatchers could soon be receiving a raise.
On Monday, Elyria City Council will decide whether or not dispatchers who've been with the city for at least three years will receive an 18% pay bump. Mayor Kevin Brubaker says the increase would reflect the appreciation the city has for dispatchers, as well as make wages more competitive and comparable to other communities.
"Right now where they stand, they're the second-lowest paid dispatchers in about a 20-community organization that we saw and we reviewed by significant dollars," the mayor told 3News. "We've lost four dispatchers in the past year or so to other communities because they're paying more money."
Last year, Brubaker says City Council voted to increase police patrolmen wages, but did not include dispatchers.
"The finance committee heard our plan to raise it this year about 18%. That's going to put them about $27.10 an hour," Brubaker said of the new proposal. "Right now, they're at $22.14 — we actually have secretaries in our city that make more money than our dispatchers do. In 2025, they will go up another 50 cents, and in 2025 we will start to negotiate a new contract."
Brubaker explained that due to the union the dispatchers are in, there are tiers of pay based on experience. While only those who have been with the city for three years or more will receive the 18% raise, others will be bumped up when they reach that anniversary. In the meantime, they will receive their contractual wages.
Stacy Witt, a member of the union and a dispatcher of 27 years, said she is "grateful" for this proposed raise.
"I think that they're realizing, you know, they just want to be competitive so we can retain people and keep them here with us," she said.
According to Brubaker, the city is currently at capacity with 12 dispatchers, but Witt hopes this possible raise will make an impact, especially for newer employees.
"It's nice to see the young ones come in and take the reins and make it a career," she stated, "make it somewhere they can keep their family fed, a roof over their head, and make it their career and do 27 years."