Legislation passed today by the Senate would help dispatchers focus on their complex duties, instead of stalled or lagging contract negotiations, by expanding the practice of binding interest arbitration used for first responders such as firefighters and law officers.
SB 5640, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Van De Wege (D-Lake Sutherland), would call for binding interest arbitration decided by an impartial third party if contract negotiations cannot be solved through mediation between dispatchers and their employers. The legislation would primarily affect dispatchers employed by cities and counties.
“Dispatchers are the lifeline between our first responders and those in need of critical assistance,” Van De Wege said. “They are held to the same standards as police and other first responders because of their access to sensitive information and the key role they play in emergency response.”
The goal of SB 5640 is not so much to raise wages but to enable dispatchers to stay on the job and concentrate their full energies on their multifaceted responsibilities, Van De Wege said.
“This will help folks who work one of the most difficult jobs around because of all the different things a dispatcher has to track at once,” he said. “They play a critical role in the health and security of people throughout the community, people who rely on skilled and reliable emergency response and don’t want their dispatchers preoccupied with contract negotiations that take longer than they should.”
This is the second time in as many years that Van De Wege has sponsored legislation on behalf of dispatchers. In 2023, passage of his SB 5328 encouraged the retention of city and county dispatchers by making them eligible to participate in the Public Safety Employees Retirement System.
