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The Brown County Board has voted to increase the pay of employees working in the Public Safety Communications department, as well as their supervisors. The department has been facing challenges with high turnover, leading to concerns among workers who are often required to work overtime, especially when the following shift is understaffed.

To address the issue, the County Board has been working to find solutions to reduce turnover. It has been observed that younger employees often leave the dispatching job for positions that offer scheduled vacations and time off without being affected by non-job factors.

Chad Weninger, the Administration Director of Brown County, presented the details of the pay increases in a meeting that lasted nearly three hours. Starting wages for dispatchers have been increased by approximately per hour, surpassing per hour. The county has also allocated ,000 for one-time retention bonuses.

Furthermore, the pay of employees in the early stages of their careers will be increased. These employees have recently completed their training. The raise will include an increase in hourly wages, with some telecommunication operators seeing an hourly increase from .89 to . A communications specialist will receive an increase from .75 to per hour. The resolution states that the total budget impact for the year will be 4,535, with 4,834 allocated for the rest of the year.

The county expects to cover the funding for the remainder of the year from within the department’s salary savings. The increase in funds for the next year will be included in the proposed 2024 budget.

By implementing these pay increases, Brown County aims to address the ongoing struggle of recruiting and retaining qualified staff in the Public Safety Communications department.

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