City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: Daniel Sauer, Chief of Police
Date: 08/19/2026
Subject: Part-Time/Per Diem Dispatch Positions
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Approve the resolution authorizing to amend the City of Ripon Employee Compensation Plan for Fiscal Year 2026–27 adding four (4) Part-Time Dispatcher positions to the 2026-27 budget at a salary level of 206.5.
BACKGROUND:
The Ripon Dispatch Center provides dispatching services to the City of Ripon and, through contractual agreements, to the Cities of Lathrop and Escalon. The approved staffing level consists of 13 Dispatchers and one Dispatch Supervisor.
Current staffing levels have been affected by the following:
Three vacant Dispatcher positions.
Two Dispatchers have recently submitted resignations. One newly hired Dispatcher is scheduled to begin the six-month training program on August 19, 2026.
Staff is actively recruiting to fill the vacant and anticipated vacancies. However, the required background investigation and training process limits the City’s ability to quickly fill open shifts.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Current vacancies are creating operational challenges, including:
Increased overtime and mandatory shift coverage, contributing to employee burnout. Reduced flexibility for full-time staff to take time off. The need for employees in other classifications, such as Code Enforcement and Records, to provide dispatch coverage, reducing service capacity in their primary assignments.
To reduce these impacts and maintain reliable dispatch services, staff proposes establishing a Part-Time Dispatcher classification and staffing pool. In the short-term, the program would focus on recruiting POST-certified public safety dispatchers, including qualified former Ripon Police Department Dispatchers with institutional knowledge and experienced external candidates with an active POST Public Safety Dispatcher Certificate. Utilizing fully certified dispatchers will minimize training requirements and allow employees to provide independent shift coverage with limited onboarding to mitigate the current staffing shortage. In the long-term, once the current staffing vacancies have been hired and trained, ideally this program would be used to hire Part-Time Dispatchers that do not have the training, but would go through the training program and be able to transfer to a Full-Time Dispatcher position once a vacancy was created.
The hourly rate assigned to these positions would be based on the current Dispatcher classification schedule. The classification table includes 5 levels of compensation. Each PartTime Dispatcher’s hourly rate would be assigned to the appropriate level based on their experience.
Establishing a part-time staffing pool would provide two primary benefits:
Fiscal Savings: Part-time coverage reduces our reliance on overtime to fill vacant shifts, resulting in a net positive fiscal impact.
Staff Relief: Utilizing experienced and trained dispatchers would provide immediate additional staffing capacity, reducing shift coverage burdens on full-time staff.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no additional General Fund impact associated with establishing the Part-Time Dispatcher position. Part-Time Dispatcher hours would be funded through budgeted salaries of current Full-Time Dispatcher vacancies within the approved 2026-27 FY budget.
RESOLUTION NO. 26-31
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RIPON AMENDING THE CITY OF RIPON EMPLOYEE
COMPENSATION PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 - 27 FOR
CERTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF AND NONREPRESENTED POLICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Ripon is desirous of amending the Employees’ Compensation Plan for certain employees of the City of Ripon Administrative Staff and Non-Represented Police Department employees (“Employees”) for Fiscal Year 2026-2027; and
WHEREAS, all other terms/conditions shall remain the same for the remaining Administrative Staff and Non-Represented Police Department Employees for Fiscal Year 2026- 2027.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Ripon does hereby amend the Employees’ Compensation Plan for the period July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 to add four (4) Part-Time Dispatcher positions to the 2026-2027 budget at a salary level of 206.5.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a special meeting of the City Council of the City of Ripon this 19th day of August, 2026, by the following vote:
RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Daniel de Graaf, Council Member
SECONDER:Michael Restuccia, Council Member
AYES: Barton, Uecker, Restuccia, Zuber, de Graaf
THE CITY OF RIPON,
A Municipal Corporation
By ________________________________
GARY BARTON, Mayor
ATTEST:
By: ___________________________
LISA ROOS, City Clerk