Public Safety Dispatcher - Entry Level

Public Safety Dispatcher - Entry Level

This recruitment is for Entry-Level Public Safety Dispatcher. Lateral candidates for Public Safety Dispatcher are encouraged to apply for the Public Safety Dispatcher
- Lateral recruitment; please visit the City's job opportunities page.

Please Note

Applicants meeting the minimum requirements will be invited to participate in the next phase of the selection process which is an online interactive exam (Criticall). As part of the Criticall exam, applicants will be asked to demonstrate a minimum typing speed of 42 words per minute.

• Uniform Allowance: $260 annually, $400 lump sum for new hires
• POST Dispatcher Certificate Pay: 1.5% for POST Intermediate Dispatcher Certificate, 3% for POST Advanced Dispatcher Certificate
• Bilingual Pay: up to $200 per month
• Communications Training Officer: 5% as assigned
• Shift Differential: 3% if assigned to swing shift, 5% if assigned to graveyard shift
• Longevity Pay: 5% after 15 years of service with the City

• CalPERS Retirement: 2% at 60 for "classic" members, 2% at 62 for new members.
• CalPERS Health Program:
  City pays 95% of Bay Area Kaiser rate premium for employee and eligible dependents
• Dental/Vision/Life/LTD Insurance: paid 100% by City
• Holiday Pay: 156 hours per year
• Sick Leave: earn 96 hours per year with unlimited accrual
• Compensatory Time Off Bank: earn hours at 1.5 times actual hours worked up to 240 hours
• Vacation Time: earn 80-200 hours per year depending on years of service
• Cash in Lieu of Medical/Dental Benefits: receive 50% of Kaiser Bay Area premium and Dental premium as cash payment (with proof of other insurance for employee and eligible dependents)
• Employee Assistance Program:
  Support and benefits, for you & eligible family members, paid for by the City
• Wellness Benefit: $500 annual allowance (subject to the annual budget approval process and may change in the future)
• Paid Parental Leave - up to 8 weeks of paid time for qualifying family bonding

Please refer to the Memorandum of Understanding for Unit 6 and the Human Resources website for additional details.

Petaluma Police Department is dedicated to providing the best law enforcement services to the community and it prides itself on community involved programs. Petaluma has a population of approximately 61,000 and encompasses nearly 14 square miles situated 40 miles north of San Francisco Bay Area on U.S. 101, and 30 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. The Police Department staffing includes 102.6 full time employees, including one Chief, one Deputy Chief, four Lieutenants, one Technical Services Manager, ten Sergeants, fifty-four Officers, and other support staff, including the Communications Unit (Dispatch).

In addition, the department has K-9 Officers, Traffic Unit, Motorcycle Patrol, SWAT Team, Tactical Dispatch Team, Investigations Unit, and a Volunteer Program. The Petaluma Police Department is proactive in Community Oriented Policing Philosophy.

The Communications Unit is currently comprised of a supervisor, 10 full-time, 1 job-share, 1 permanent part-time, and per-diem dispatch positions. The Petaluma Police Department is a member of the Sonoma County consortium which uses a shared CAD/RMS system. Full Time Dispatchers typically work a 4/10 schedule (4 days per week/10 hours per day) or 4 days per week/3 twelve-hour days and 1 4-hour day depending on staffing levels.

Receive 911 emergency and non-emergency calls; dispatch resources according to police and fire procedures; operate various dispatch center equipment; maintain required dispatch records.

General supervision is provided by the Public Safety Dispatch Supervisor; responsibilities may include indirect supervision of lower level personnel.

The duties, skills, and demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with a disability to perform the essential duties, skills, and demands.

• Receive 911 emergency and non-emergency calls for service; evaluate the nature of the emergency; enter information into computer terminals; determine appropriate response level, priority and type of resources required, dispatch police, fire, and medical personnel and equipment; update and monitor information related to the event.
• Monitor radio traffic and request for services, relay information and/or instructions to personnel, work with other agencies and coordinate mutual response radio traffic.
• Maintain records of calls for service using the computer aided dispatch system; maintain and access business and premise history files for emergency and other necessary contacts.
• Operate in-house and radio paging systems.
• Monitor closed-circuit security cameras.
• Assist citizens at the Police Station after business hours. Coordinate responses to after…