911 Dispatcher

Position Description

The 911 Telecommunicator is responsible for receiving and prioritizing all emergency and nonemergency requests for service and for notifying appropriate personnel and equipment in a manner consistent with the mission and goals of the City of Edina Police and Fire Departments.

Training Period Information:

• We complete the majority of training internally and on-the-job.
• The average training period is approximately 4-6 months in duration.
• Over the course of the training, you will rotate between different trainers in blocks of time between day shift and night shift (Typically 1 month blocks of time);
• Trainees will receive daily/weekly feedback on progress and focus on areas that require improvement.

Essential Functions

• Answers both emergency and non-emergency incoming telephone calls;
• Determines nature and urgency of calls and collects required information;
• Evaluates information received and prioritizes calls;
• Dispatches patrol officers, firefighters, paramedics, ambulances, ACO/CSO, and other emergency vehicles in response to calls;
• Provides pre-arrival instructions for callers;
• Tracks the location and status of all emergency and non-emergency units, including those out of service;
• Arranges for assistance from contract and non-contract providers such as towing, spill clean-up, medical examiner, reserves, etc.;
• Operates hearing-impaired emergency communication equipment where needed.

• Responds to requests for information from police and fire units through multiple public, private and government databases;
• Patches radio frequencies;
• Maintains awareness of availability of mutual aid radio channels and suggests most appropriate channel;
• Notifies other agencies to respond to police/fire/medical emergency calls as appropriate and coordinate their response by providing information and directions via phone or radio;
• Monitors the National Weather Service channel and passes vital weather information as appropriate;
• Listens to mutual aid frequencies and surrounding agencies and advises Edina and Richfield officers of in-progress crimes near the borders that affect those cities.

• Inputs vital information into the CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) system for every call;
• Updates CAD location records to reflect vital information on residences or businesses;
• Monitors and makes other police or fire personnel aware of trends in location, type, or times of incidents that may indicate a link or show an ongoing problem;
• Verifies that electronic and paper information files carry the same information;
• Monitors and purges Department/Division files/records in a secure fashion and in accordance with applicable legal regulations and local retention schedule.

• Monitors entrances and exits to the Police Department and notifies officers in case of illegal entry into secure areas;
• Monitors prisoners and officers in the booking area;
• Monitors panic buttons around Police Department and City offices and sends appropriate
• response;
• Monitors vital building systems and notifies maintenance personnel of disruptions in service or alarms indicating system failure;
• Controls opening and closing of restricted areas during severe weather warnings and monitors movement of personnel into safe zones.

• Keeps track of personnel on duty during each shift;
• Keeps updated emergency contact lists for active personnel and provides numbers as needed;
• Maintains dispatch schedule;
• Maintains contact information for volunteer resources.

• Creates a call for service for equipment alarms or breakages;
• If directed, attempts minor repairs of equipment or contacts an appropriate repair contractor;
• Notifies police/fire/medical personnel who are affected by the repair;
• Maintains inventory of equipment and supplies, and orders replacements when necessary
• Assists with routine equipment maintenance and keeps associated records.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

The job requires a high school diploma or equivalent and two years of related customer service experience and/or two years of higher education. The ability to work shift work of days, afternoons, and overnights, weekends, holidays and on short notice.

Desired Qualifications:

Prior experience as a 911 Police/Fire Dispatcher or prior experience in a fast paced working environment where it was necessary to make accurate and quick decisions and the ability to work independently without immediate supervision is desired.

Supplemental Information

• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required for Successful Job Performance:
• Knowledge of and ability to learn law enforcement terminology, procedures and equipment;
• Knowledge of and ability to use standard office equipment, radios and computers and ability to learn applications/systems specific to the Department;
• Knowledge of and ability to learn the geographical layout, political and community service jurisdictions, and road systems of the City;
• Ability to think clearly and act quickly and correctly in emergency situations;
• Ability to exercise a high degree of good judgment and independence while evaluating emergency and non-emergency situations and the ability to make split-second decisions;
• Ability to multi-task, gather and disseminate information clearly, accurately and rapidly in urgent situations;
• Ability to calm irate or hysterical persons;
• Ability to enter data accurately into a variety of databases;
• Ability to maintain confidentiality;
• Ability to relate and work effectively with people from diverse cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds;
• The ability to work shift work of days, afternoons, and overnights, weekends, holidays and on short notice.

Special Testing for this recruitment:

For those candidates moving on in the process there will be the potential for two different screening processes. Everyone will be notified as soon as possible by email if they will be participating in these tests.

1) Criticall Testing:

Critciall is computerized dispatch testing program that evaluates your ability in different dispatch related areas such as; decision making, multi-tasking, data entry, spelling, sentence clarity, listening skills, etc. Testing applicants will be completed online..

Full time Employee Benefits:
The City of Edina offers a competitive benefits package and uses a “cafeteria plan” model, which gives the employee a monthly sum of money and allows them the flexibility to choose how to spend it on the various benefits offered. All insurance coverage takes effect the 1st of the month following date of employment.

• Medical: 9 plans to choose from through Health Partners. All individual plans are fully covered and have leftover money towards other benefits. Family health insurance is also low cost and high quality.
• Dental: 2 plans to choose from through Health Partners depending on your dental needs.
• Vision: Supplemental Vision plan for glasses and contacts
• Long & Short-Term Disability: All full-time employees receive Long Term disability at no cost, with an option to purchase short term disability.
• Life insurance: All full-time employees receive a $20,000 Basic Life policy at no cost, with an additional buy up option.
• Retirement: All public employees are required by the State to participate in the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA). 6.5% of the employee's gross wage or salary is matched with a 7.5% contribution from the City. Some Police and Fire employees are mandated to participate in PERA at a rate of 11.8% of their gross wage or salary, matched by 17.70% contribution by the City. 457 Deferred Compensation plans are also available.
• Supplemental Accident, Critical Illness and Hospital Care plans
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Free and confidential service for all employees and their families

• Paid vacation is available to all regular full-time employees and begins with accruing 3.08 hours/paycheck (10 days per year). The amount increases as the years of service increase.

• Sick leave accrues at 3.69 hours/paycheck (12 days per year).
• Each regular full-time employee is eligible for 13 paid holidays during the year.

• Extended Part-time (30-39 hours/week year-round): Eligible for Health Insurance, 13 paid holidays, Retirement, and Employee Assistance (EAP) program. Employees also accrue Paid Time Off (PTO) at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked.

• Regular Part-time (20-29 hours/week year-round): Eligible for 6 paid holidays, Retirement, and Employee Assistance (EAP) Program. Employees also accrue Paid Time Off (PTO) at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked.

• Flexible Part-time and Seasonal employees: Employees accrue Paid Time Off (PTO) at 1 hour for every 30 hours worked and are eligible for the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

• Individual benefits may vary slightly depending on the specific position, full or part-time status or union contract.