Employment Information

This document contains information about KITTCOM’s current testing and hiring process. Please also refer to the "Hiring FAQ" page for a list of Frequently Asked Questions about KITTCOM's hiring process for Emergency Services Dispatchers.

Pay and Benefits:
Starting pay is $2,489 per month. Candidates with recent experience as a public safety dispatcher may be offered a higher starting salary. New employees work 40 hour weeks while training. After initial training is complete (from 7 to 10 months) employees change to a 42 hour workweek with automatic overtime and pay increases to $2,634 per month. After reaching 2,080 hours of total employment, (about 1 year) there is a raise to $2,782 (2008 scale - 2009 wage rates are unknown) per month. After another 1,040 hours of employment (about 18 months of total employment) there will be another raise to at least $2,929 per month (2008 scale - 2009 wage rates are unknown), with additional raises per the Union contract with General Teamsters Local 760. (Top step dispatchers will earn $3,739 per month in 2008.) KITTCOM also offers medical, dental and vision benefits for employees and their dependents.

Minimum Qualifications:
• Be at least 18 years of age at the time of application.
• High school graduation or GED.
• No disqualifying criminal history or drug use.
• Ability to type 30 words per minute.
• Ability to work rotating shifts, weekends, holidays and widely varying hours.

A one page test registration form is available here or you may pick one up at the front counter at the Ellensburg Police Department, 100 North Pearl Street, Ellensburg, Washington during business hours. If you would like to have a registration form mailed or faxed to you, please call (509) 925-8534 with your request. There is a $10.00 non-refundable registration fee that must be submitted when you return your test registration form. Please make your check or money order payable to “KITTCOM”. (Sending or dropping off cash will disqualify you from the process.)

Testing Registration Deadline:
• Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.
• Your completed registration and $10 testing fee must be received by the deadline.
       BY MAIL ONLY – KITTCOM, 700 Elmview Road, Ellensburg, WA 98926 (because of security, you may not drop off your registration at the 911 center.)
       IN PERSON ONLY – Stop by the Ellensburg Police Department at 100 North Pearl Street, Ellensburg, during business hours. You MUST place your registration form and testing fee in a sealed envelope with “KITTCOM” on the front in order for EPD’s office staff to be able to accept it.
• KITTCOM does not accept faxed test registrations.

After you submit your registration, you do not need to take any further action prior to appearing at the test site for the first written test.

Written Testing:
• Date & Time: Saturday, January 12, 2008 starting promptly at 9:00 a.m.
• Location: KITTCOM, 700 Elmview Rd (at the SE corner of Airport and Elmview Roads near Bowers Field), Ellensburg.
• Late arrivals will be disqualified. The test registration fee is not refundable.

The first test is a written multi-tasking test that only takes about 15 minutes to administer. Candidates must pass the first test to qualify for the next portion of the testing session. Historically, about one half of all candidates pass the first test.

Candidates who pass the first test will be scheduled for appointments later on Saturday for two additional tests at KITTCOM, one of which is computer based. Since only eight to ten candidates may be tested on the computer based test at one time, the next portion of the testing process takes place throughout the day in two hour blocks starting about 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. Appointments will be offered in order of score, so candidates with the highest scores on the first test will choose their test times first. (Candidates may trade test times among themselves if they wish.) The computer based testing will evaluate skills in multi-tasking, listening, cross referencing, data entry, decision making, memory recall, prioritization and other job related tasks. The written test administered to those who pass the computer based test measures job suitability and workplace skills.

Candidates who pass the testing will be scheduled for an interview late Saturday afternoon or Saturday evening on the same day. After all the interviews are complete, KITTCOM will notify each candidate of the results of his or her initial interview by phone or e-mail.

Candidates invited to continue in the hiring process will be required to complete a formal job application and bring it to the next portion of the selection process, which is an appointment to spend four hours observing KITTCOM’s operations. KITTCOM’s staff will evaluate candidates and submit reports and candidate ratings to the Director.

After their observation, candidates may be presented with a conditional offer of hire, which outlines the steps that must be completed and passed in order for the candidate to receive a formal hiring offer. Those steps include an extensive background investigation and polygraph, psychological, and medical examinations (including a screening for illegal drug use), all administered at KITTCOM’s expense.

Candidates who successfully complete the above process will receive a final offer of employment and be hired with a starting date sometime in mid to late February.

KITTCOM’s employment process is extremely rigorous, but it is intended to obtain a good match between interested candidates and our organization. Candidates who successfully complete the testing process usually succeed in KITTCOM’s on the job training program. If you have questions about KITTCOM, your application package or the hiring process, please call Interim Director Darlene Mainwaring at (509) 925-8530.

For more information about the area, try the "Visit Ellensburg" site.

For more information about the emergency services dispatching profession, try the links below: