191020

Ordinance

Authorize a Letter of Agreement between the City and the Portland Police Association to implement a Police Dispatch Trainee Certification Pilot Project by increasing the pace of certification for Emergency Communications Dispatchers

Passed
Amended by Council

The City of Portland ordains:

Section 1. The Council finds:

  1. The City and the Portland Police Association are parties to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) effective July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2023. 
  2. The Union is the sole collective bargaining representative on behalf of employees working in classifications listed in Schedule A of the CBA.
  3. Over the past one year, BOEC staffing has declined and call load has increased.  This has led to long call-hold times and the cancellation of trainings. The larger the staffing deficit, the more likely training will continue to be cancelled. Over time, this pattern could lead to an even greater staffing deficit, creating a cyclical pattern that will difficult to emerge from.
  4. In order to provide an incentive for BOEC-PPA members to 1) Increase voluntary overtime hours worked and 2) Increase hours of coaching available, in order to address staffing shortages and ensure a consistent pipeline for coaching trainees, the parties have agreed to implement a pilot program through the end of the current fiscal year. 

NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:

  1. The Director of the Bureau of Human Resources is authorized to enter into a Letter of Agreement, Exhibit 1, between the City and Portland Police Association to agree to implement the Police Dispatch Trainee Certification Pilot Project, retroactive to September 15, 2022.

An ordinance when passed by the Council shall be signed by the Auditor. It shall be carefully filed and preserved in the custody of the Auditor (City Charter Chapter 2 Article 1 Section 2-122)

Passed as amended by Council

Auditor of the City of Portland
Mary Hull Caballero

Impact Statement

Purpose of Proposed Legislation and Background Information

The goal of this proposal is to address staffing challenges at BOEC by increasing the pace of certification for Emergency Communications operators

Over the past one year, BOEC staffing has declined and call load has increased.  This has led to long call-hold times and the cancellation of trainings. The larger the staffing deficit, the more likely training will continue to be cancelled. Over time, this pattern could lead to an even greater staffing deficit, creating a cyclical pattern that will difficult to emerge from.

This proposal is an incentive for BOEC-PPA members to 1) Increase voluntary overtime hours worked and 2) Increase hours of coaching available, in order to address staffing shortages and ensure a consistent pipeline for coaching trainees. The attached letter of agreement includes the following changes:

  • Double pay for all overtime hours worked in the remainder of the fiscal year (starting Sept 15th). This includes both voluntary and forced overtime.
  • Implementation of a 3% coaching premium increase for coaches willing to train in all disciplines with no restrictions. These multi-disciplinary coaches already receive an 11% premium pay; this change would result in these coaches receiving a 14% premium.

The proposal will be evaluated for efficacy on by the Commissioner-in-Charge and BOEC management on a monthly basis. If the pilot is not working as intended, it may be cancelled. Metrics for evaluation will include:  

  • Training hours provided
  • Number of voluntary overtime hours worked
  • Number of new coaches that are willing to train in all disciplines.

Financial and Budgetary Impacts

Throughout FY22, the number of BOEC employees in training has grown from 25 to 37, while the number of open positions has also grown.  It is essential to prioritize training, while also increasing hiring rates to exceed the current attrition rates.

Current Vacancy Savings

Position

Open Positions

 Monthly Savings

Emerg Commun Call Taker

5

 $        35,522

Emerg Commun Dispatcher, Sr

23

 $      199,275

Total

28

 $      234,797

Projections of Increasing OT pay to 2.0

Current Avg Monthly OT Hours = 1,565

Increase to 2.0

25% OT Hrs Increase

75% OT Hrs Increase

Monthly Increase

 $            44,333

$          80,195

 $        151,919

Annual Increase

 $          531,995

 $        962,339

 $     1,823,026

Monthly Hours Added

-

391

1174

Projections of Increasing Coaching Premium Pay from 11% to 14%

Current Avg Monthly Coaching Hours = 1,674

Increase to 14%

50% Coaching Hrs Increase

Additional Cost

Monthly Cost

$          2,302

 $         5,370

 $            7,672

Annual Increase

 $        27,619

 $       64,444

 $        92,063

Monthly Hours Added

837

Based on analysis by the Community Safety Division, increased personnel costs can be absorbed by BOEC through vacancy savings and will not result in an additional fiscal impact on the General Fund.

A high-level (75%) estimate of the increase of incentivizing OT with a 2.0 pay increase and increasing coach’s premium pay will be covered by current vacancy savings.  The hope is that the increase will lead to the ability to move trainees through the pipeline to get BOEC back to minimum staffing levels.  Monthly reporting should be completed to track the progress of training hours compared to OT increases.  Due to the current high number of vacancies, additional work needs to be done to increase hiring rates to get back to full staffing levels.

Community Impacts and Community Involvement

Low staffing at the bureau has resulted in long call-answering times, which have a profoundly negative impact on the level of service for emergency response provided to the community. The BOEC User Board, which governs BOEC operations, has been supportive of efforts to address the bureau's staffing challenges. 

100% Renewable Goal

Not applicable. 

Financial and Budget Analysis

This item is expected to generate additional costs; however, based on analysis by the Community Safety Division, increased personnel costs can be absorbed by BOEC through vacancy savings and will not result in an additional fiscal impact on the General Fund. CBO corroborated this fiscal analysis, which showed current vacancy savings accruing at approximately $235,000 monthly based on a snapshot of current vacancies, as compared to the projected cost increase of $160,000 per month generated by the contract amendments in this ordinance.  

CBO also notes that Council adopted a budget note in the FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget that states BOEC “is directed to use FY 2021-22 underspending to support hiring additional emergency dispatcher and quality assurance staff positions as they are able to fill them. During the FY 2022-23 Fall BMP, the bureau may keep underspending in the Emergency Communications Fund.” As part of FY 2022-23 Fall BMP Development, BOEC has recognized and requested to retain $2.69 million in unspent PY resource, attributable to both unspent one-time allocations for additional dispatch and training supervisors ($1.26 million) and unspent materials and services allocations ($1.42 million). The bureau has an FY 2022-23 Adopted Budget beginning fund balance total of $3,309,783 and with the addition of the Fall Supplemental Budget package will BOEC’s total CY fund balance to $5,998,712—comprised of unspent General Fund discretionary revenue, State 911 revenue, and other external resource (user agencies are billed on actuals and credited their portion of State 911 revenue and thus their contributions do not fall to balance). Therefore, CBO notes that should the contract amendment costs related to overtime and coaching premiums prove to generate costs higher than anticipated in the projections attached, the bureau possesses significant fund balance to remedy those costs and would likely not need to request compensation set-aside resources in the Spring Budget Monitoring Process.  

Document History

Agenda Council action
Time Certain
City Council
Passed to second reading as amended
Vote called. Item failed to pass. (Y-Mapps, Rubio, Ryan; N-Hardesty, Wheeler)
Motion to reconsider: Moved by Wheeler and seconded by Hardesty. (Y-5)
Motion to remove the emergency clause: Moved by Wheeler and seconded by Mapps. (Y-5)
Passed to second reading October 5, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. as amended
Regular Agenda
City Council
Passed As Amended

Votes
  • Aye (3):
    • Mingus Mapps
    • Dan Ryan
    • Ted Wheeler
  • Nay (1):
    • Jo Ann Hardesty
  • Absent (1):
    • Carmen Rubio

Contact

AnnMarie Kevorkian Mattie

Labor Relations Coordinator

Lisa St. Helen

Emergency Communications Operations Manager

Requested Agenda Type

Regular

Date and Time Information

Requested Council Date
Time Requested
10 minutes