911 dispatchers in D.C. will receive $800 bonus for showing up for all of their scheduled shifts

Emergency call center dispatchers in the District will get an $800 bonus if they show up for all of their scheduled shifts for a given month, officials said Tuesday in an internal email.

The move by the D.C. Office of Unified Communications, which handles 911 and 311 calls, comes after 58 of 66 total shifts were short on staff for the month of July. Call center data revealed 31 of 65 shifts in June and 16 of 66 shifts in May were understaffed.

Sudden call-outs by dispatchers and other staff caused the shortages.

“Unscheduled call outs of all kinds are up and causing a hardship for fellow employees who are continuously getting stuck, coming in early, and being asked to come in on days off. The pilot is simple- show up for each shift you’re assigned and receive $800 additional for the month. We start today for August,” Heather McGaffin, director of the Office of Unified Communications, wrote to employees, according to WRC-TV.

The staffing shortfalls have affected the time it takes to first answer calls and the time it takes to get a dispatcher available to handle a call.

On Sunday, for example, only 1,654 of 2,654 incoming 911 calls were answered, according to call center data. Of those answered, only 934 were picked up within 15 seconds and 321 callers abandoned their calls while waiting.

Between Aug. 12, 2023, and Monday, calls got to a dispatcher in two minutes or less on average. But some callers had to wait almost 15 minutes before talking to a dispatcher.

Members of the D.C. Council have called for better pay and more bonuses, while others are calling out the administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser over the situation.

“The Executive won’t even admit there’s a major problem — but if it’s true they’re paying people $800 just to come to work, it’s a clear admission that we have an agency badly in need of major changes. D.C. residents are shaken and don’t trust that there’s leadership and a clear directive to turn the agency around,” council member Charles Allen, Ward 6 Democrat, told WRC-TV.

Council member Brooke Pinto, Ward 2 Democrat, told WTOP: “I am concerned about the trend of low staffing levels we are seeing at OUC,” and suggested hiring and performance bonuses.

Council member Christina Henderson, at-large independent, told WTOP that she has asked the Bowser administration to raise call center workers’ wages in order “to increase the caliber of individuals applying for these positions.”