Employees at the District of Columbia’s 911 call center arrived at work Tuesday morning to find an email from their boss telling them that effective immediately, they would be eligible for an $800 bonus if they show up for all their assigned shifts in August.

The email from Office of Unified Communications Director Heather McGaffin explained the payment is part of a “pilot” to address staffing issues. McGaffin’s email to OUC staff was first reported by NBC Washington.

In her email, McGaffin wrote that, “Unscheduled call outs of all kinds are up and causing a hardship for fellow employees,” who often have to come in early or fill shifts on their days off.

WTOP has contacted the agency to ask about the staffing issues and the pilot program.

Anna Noakes, OUC spokesperson, wrote, “We appreciate how hard our team at OUC are working and will continue to acknowledge and reward those efforts. Staffing is crucial to the success of the agency, and we will continue to explore ways to enhance agency performance while being good stewards of District resources.”

OUC’s call center is among the busiest in the country and, according to the agency, recruitment efforts are ongoing.

The statement didn’t address the volume of call outs by 911 staff members or what’s behind the increase of absences by staff.

The OUC dashboard shows that in July, 58 of 66 shifts were completed with the “Staffing Target Not Met.” That data is updated monthly.

“The fact that they have to offer people $800 just to show up for their job — I think it’s highlighting how bad it’s gotten and it’s a management and a leadership failure,” D.C. Council member Charles Allen told WTOP.

Allen said he believes the agency “is in crisis” and added, “There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t hear from a constituent” about 911 calls that ended with a hang-up, a busy signal or what he calls “a bad answer.”

The agency has also experienced technical issues linked to its computer-aided dispatch system. The most recent outage lasted 20 minutes.

Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto, chair of the D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, issued a statement saying, “Our 911 call takers and dispatchers do challenging, high-stakes, and lifesaving work,” adding that it’s critical “our essential workers are fairly compensated.”

Pinto went on to say, “I am concerned about the trend of low staffing levels we are seeing at OUC” and urged exploring incentives, including hiring and performance bonuses.

Council member Christina Henderson wrote to WTOP saying that OUC has “suffered from significant staffing challenges in the past few years.”

She said she has encouraged D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration to raise their wages “to increase the caliber of individuals applying for these positions.” Henderson also noted that offering the current level of bonuses doesn’t require council approval, “so long as funding is available in the agency budget.”

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.