At its regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday night, the Nome Common Council voted to increase wages for Communications Officers at the Nome Police Department. The change amounts to roughly a $13,000 annual pay raise per position when including benefits.
Present council members voted unanimously to reclassify Communication Officers, a position more commonly known as dispatchers that are responsible for answering 911 calls, by two steps in the city pay scale. City budget documents show total pay and benefits for an entry-level communications officer rising from just about $78,000 to roughly $91,000, with similar increases for higher level positions.
Nome's Interim Chief of Police, Mike Heintzelman, testified before the council voted. He told the council that NPD would soon be down to just three dispatchers, which are responsible for 24 hour service.
“So that means I got to bring in officers, because that's all I have, and that makes me short on the road as well,” Heintzelman said. “The fact is it kind of burns everybody up.”
According to the resolution, the city has room in the budget for up to seven communication officers for the 2026 fiscal year, but only four of those positions are filled, and it has not successfully hired a new dispatcher since August 2024. Heintzelman said increasing pay could help the department compete with private sector jobs in the city.
“Now, is this a magic fix? No, but it's one step closer, so I can start changing the way the city advertises for communications officer and show our salary ranges to be in a more competitive type market,” Heintzelman said.
Heintzelman said the reclassification will cost the city about $60,000 a year, but by not having to pay officers overtime, that added cost could be offset.
In other business at the meeting, the council passed a resolution prioritizing advocacy for funding certain city projects before the state and federal legislatures, including the Port of Nome construction project, teacher and law enforcement housing, water and wastewater improvements, a utility public works and emergency response equipment structure, and a covered multi-use recreational structure. It also approved six amendments to the city’s fiscal year 2026 budget.
