Bonuses approved for Westmoreland 911 call takers

Westmoreland County will use cash in an attempt bolster its roster of 911 dispatchers and call-takers.

Commissioners have agreed to a $486,000 financial package to award raises to dozens of county employees in multiple departments and award bonuses to 911 staffers, as well as new hires.

“This is a public safety issue. We don’t have enough employees, and this is something that is affecting the entire country, not just Westmoreland County,” Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said. “We need to have enough workers because (staffing) is low.”

Commissioners approved $1,500 bonuses per year for up to three years for its telecommunication officers. Sign-on bonuses of $1,500 were approved for 911 employees hired after Sept. 20, 2021.

Scott Stepanovich, deputy director of the county’s Public Safety Department, said there are 19 vacancies in the telecommunications staff that, as of Thursday, include 41 employees on the job taking emergency calls 24 hours a day. He said the county wants to have a full staff of 60 call-takers.

“We’re not understaffed and everything is being covered,” Stepanovich said. “We have people who are at retirement age, and new employees have to complete six months of training, so we want to retain people for more than a year or two. That’s crucial to the program.”

At optimum staffing levels, the 911 system has 10 call-takers on duty. Stepanovich said, with its depleted roster depending on the shifts, at least eight telecommunication officers are on duty at all times.

Approved salary revisions include raises handed out to lawyers in the county solicitor’s office. Money was redistributed among the existing staff from the salary saved through the recent retirement of a veteran lawyer in the office.

Commissioners approved a new salary structure for more than a dozen employees in the county’s computer information systems department. Overall, those employees will see higher wages after a 2% pay cut was offset by an associated plan to extend their work day. Computer technicians will work 30 additional minutes each day starting in July, then another half-hour in January.

“We’re losing people, especially to (the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County), because they are paying higher than us. We have to find a way to retain people,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said.