SIDE LETTER AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA
AND
PUBLIC SAFETY NON-SWORN EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
(UNIT 10)
SENIOR PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHER MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
The City has experienced an ongoing high vacancy rate (currently 38%) in the Communications Center of the Police Department. The Police Department has explored various recruitment outreach efforts to attract candidates to the City of Santa Clara, and while some of these efforts have been successful in filling some of the vacancies, vacancies in this Division continue to exist. The current classification specifications for the position of Senior Public Safety Dispatcher (Job Code 725) immediately disqualifies external candidates who do not have at least three (3) years of public safety dispatching experience in Santa Clara.
In an effort to attract experienced external candidates with public safety dispatching experience from other public agencies, the City is interested in modifying the existing classification specification for the position of Senior Public Safety Dispatcher (Job Code The City and the Public Safety Non-Sworn Employees Association (hereafter, "Unit 10") have discussed and have agreed to make the following revisions to the Minimum Qualifications section of the Senior Public Safety Dispatcher (Job Code 725) classification specification.
1. Effective after approval of the Side Letter Agreement the parties agree that during the 2025 calendar year, the City shall conduct an ongoing recruitment for the position of Senior Public Safety Dispatcher (Job Code 725) with the following amendment to the Minimum Qualifications.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
Graduation from high school or possession of a GED and five (5) years' experience in public safety dispatching, three (3) years of which must be with the Santa Clara Police Department, Dispatch Unit.
Unit 10 Side Letter Agreement - Senior Public Safety Dispatcher Minimum Qualifications March 25, 2025
For calendar year 2025, the minimum qualifications are revised to remove the required three (3) years of which must be with the Santa Clara Police Department, Dispatch Unit.
Effective January 1, 2026, the City will revert to the prior minimum qualifications.
With this recruitment, an eligibility list shall be established with an expiration of no later than December 31, 2026. The parties agree that the City shall not request to extend the list for any additional time beyond December 31, 2026.
2. Effective January 2026, the parties agree to update the Senior Public Safety Dispatcher (Job Code 725) classification to revert back to the language that existed prior to the execution of this Side Letter:
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
Graduation from high school or possession of a GED and five (5) years' experience in public safety dispatching, three (3) years of which must be with the Santa Clara Police Department, Communications (Dispatch) Division.
For calendar year 2025, the minimum qualifications are revised to remove the required three (3) years of which must be with the Santa Clara Police Department, Dispatch Unit.
Effective January 1, 2026, the City will revert to the prior minimum qualifications.
3. This Side Letter Agreement shall not establish precedent for future agreements and shall not be construed or implied to obligate the City or Unit 10 to enter into any similar agreements in the future.
4. This Side Letter Agreement shall become effective when signed by all parties below and upon approval by City Council.
Attachments:
1. Class Specification - (clean and track changes) Senior Public Safety Dispatcher (725) Calendar Year 2025
2. Class Specification - (clean and track changes) Senior Public Safety Dispatcher (725) Calendar Year 2026
FOR THE CITY: FOR UNIT 10:
41/25 Rachel Thie 040va5
Date Rachel Thomas
President, Unit 10
Unit 10 Side Letter Agreement - Senior Public Safety Dispatcher Minimum Qualifications March 25, 2025
Gauk Azenedo 4/2/25
Aracely Azevedo Date
Director of Human Resources