Four New Positions for Dover

The legislative and finance committee of Dover City Council came together and voted, recommending that hiring take place for four new positions that are extremely crucial for both the fire department and for electric utility. They are also hoping to get rid of the Dover Economic Development Office. These votes came in after learning about the deficit of $3.4 million for the year of 2013.

On Monday, the committee came together for a meeting in City Hall and voted to hire a new dispatcher. This was a request that came from the Fire Chief, Jack Fortney. As of right now, the fire department in Dover has just four dispatchers who work full-time. There is also one employee who works part-time as a dispatcher; however, he is not always able to fill in for other employees when he is needed. It has caused a lot of stress, especially because the fire department has ended up having to pay more money to employees due to overtime. This causes stress for the fire department and for the employees who may not want to work the overtime but take it because they do not want to let down their employer.

Scott Koenig, the city manager, suggests that the new dispatcher be hired, along with three other employees for electric utility. One of these positions includes an electrical engineer who would be responsible as a foreman, while the other two positions would work as substation technicians.  Jerry Johnson, the Interim Electric Director, claims that the electric utility department was dealing with less staff members due to some positions that had been left vacant. And, one of the employees is planning to retire in April, which would lead to yet another vacancy.

The individual that is hired for the foreman position will typically start with a salary of anywhere from $79,000-$103,000. The individuals hired for the technician positions would start off with a salary of about $63,140.

The councilman, David Bonar, is actually not a member of the committee but he agrees that the city does, in fact, need to have the right number of employees for electrical utility, especially because it is a way of making sure that the electric utility is reliable and safe. When it was recommended that more staff members be hired for electrical utility, everyone on the committee seemed to agree, as the recommendation passed with absolutely no oppositions.

In the meantime, the committee voted on a proposal to get rid of the Economic Development Office.  The Economic Development Office was established in 2008. Koenig believes that if the office is eliminated, the city will be able to save $50,000 throughout 2013. However, there are some who simply disagree with what Koenig believes will work.