Staff Report.Approve Amendments to the Temporary Classification Plan
PREPARED BY: Lisa Velasco
Human Resources Director
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 09/07/2021 ITEM NO: 6
DATE: September 1, 2021
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Approve an Amendment to the Temporary Classification Plan to Align the
Temporary Communication Dispatcher Classification Salary Steps with the
TEA Communication Dispatcher Classification Salary Steps
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve an amendment to the Temporary classification plan (Attachment 1) to align the
Temporary Communication Dispatcher classification salary steps with the TEA Communication
Dispatcher classification salary steps.
BACKGROUND:
The Town of Los Gatos Personnel Rules and Regulations (Section 4.4) require that amendments
and revisions to the classification plan are effective upon approval by Town Council. The
Town’s classification plan is represented in each of the six separate employee group salary
schedules. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System that administers the Town’s
employee pension plan and health plan benefits, also require that salary schedule changes be
formally adopted by an agency’s governing body. In most cases, changes are typically
presented to Council for approval as part of the formal budget adoption or through the labor
negotiations process.
DISCUSSION:
The Town currently has eight (8) budgeted full time equivalent (FTE) Communication Dispatcher
positions represented by the Town Employees’ Association (TEA) bargaining unit. Two (2)
positions are vacant and two (2) positions are filled by new employees that are in the process of
completing a rigorous training program before they can operate independently as
Communication Dispatchers. A third position became vacant as of September 1, 2021. The
combined vacancies and trainee positions result in the Town’s 24-hour operating emergency
PAGE 2 OF 2 SUBJECT: Approve an Amendment to the Temporary Classification Plan DATE: September 1, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
dispatch center being staffed by three (3) FTE fully trained employees.
Even with overtime options, this staffing model is not sustainable and places the Town’s FTE
employees at risk for burn-out, illness, and safety issues due to lack of rest. The Police
Department is quickly pursuing alternatives to keep the function continuously staffed and one
solution is to supplement the Town’s FTE’s by actively recruiting full-time Communication
Dispatcher’s from other agencies to work part-time for the Town of Los Gatos to fill in the
staffing gaps. This type of employee is typically referred to as a per diem employee because
they are already fully trained in the dispatch function and as a common practice receive the
same rate of pay as the Town’s FTE Communication Dispatcher classification. In recent years,
the Town’s pay rates for per diem Communication Dispatcher, identified on the Temporary
Classification salary table, have fallen below the TEA Communication Dispatcher classifications
by approximately 7% which presents a recruitment challenge.
To address the current inequity and to prevent the same situation from occurring in the future,
staff is recommending that instead of identifying a specific pay range on the Temporary
Classifications Salary schedule, that the range is identified by the verbiage “equal to the hourly
rate for TEA Communication Dispatcher”.
CONCLUSION:
Due to the current FTE Communication Dispatcher vacancies in the Police Department, staff is
recommending that the Communication Dispatcher Temporary Salary Schedule be amended.
Instead of indicating specific hourly rates, the verbiage “equal to the hourly rate for TEA
Communication Dispatcher” would be added. The amendment would ensure that the
temporary hourly pay rates are consistently in line with the FTE pay rates which should aid in
the recruitment of per diem Communication Dispatchers to support minimum staffing needs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The annual fiscal impact will be absorbed in the Police Department’s FY 2021/22 operating
budget as a result of the existing vacancies.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
Attachment:
1. Temporary Classifications Salary Schedule