Bilingual 911 Dispatchers to Get Boost in Salaries
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Monterey Park will boost the salaries of police dispatchers with special language skills in hopes of recruiting more bilingual employees for its 911 emergency services. Under a program adopted Monday by the City Council, dispatchers who are fluent in languages spoken by more than 25% of the city’s population will get a $150-a-month bonus.
Dispatchers--employees who field 911 emergency calls and send police or fire trucks to the scene--make between $23,016 and $28,140 a year, depending on length of their employment.
The council had considered a tougher policy that would have required the hiring of only bilingual dispatchers until a goal was met. City Atty. Anthony Canzoneri had warned that Monterey Park could get into legal trouble if it failed to hire enough bilingual dispatchers.
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