Flathead County OKs temporary dispatcher staffing MOA and approves HR changes amid hiring pressures

Commissioners approved a memorandum of agreement with AFSCME Montana Council 9 that allows the county to bring in temporary, fully trained dispatchers through a temp agency to cover summer staffing gaps and help with scheduling and retention.

Tammy Spermoski, Human Resources, told the board the MOA provides an additional tool to address dispatcher shortages and that the county has been shorthanded in dispatch for some time. “Hopefully, we can get this going during the summer months to alleviate some of the scheduling issues,” Spermoski said.

Spermoski also presented HR transmittals the board approved, including a revised job description for a tax agent at the sheriff’s office and a position change in the Health Department converting a patient support navigator to a health promotion specialist. The Health Department reclassification increases the position from grade 3 to grade 6, with an annual cost increase of about $15,000 to be covered by Montana Cancer Control Program funds.

In a monthly HR report, Spermoski said February had six closed job postings covering 12 positions, 94 applications received, and on average about 78 days to fill vacancies. She reported 59 current vacancies and seven pending new hires. She also reviewed workers’ compensation claims and said the county’s health insurance trust fund balance was approximately $11.3 million at the end of February and is down about $1.3 million since the start of the plan year; staff warned continued trends could leave a larger deficit by the end of the plan year and described ongoing premium and stop-loss discussions with the county’s administrator and Allegiance.

Commissioners asked for more details on recruitment strategies and on how the health trust levels would be managed; staff said they were working on premium-setting and coverage options ahead of open enrollment.