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Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) Board of Commissioners Unanimously Adopts FY23 Budget
NEW ORLEANS (December 6, 2022) – The Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) proposed FY23 budget was unanimously adopted by the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, December 6th during its regularly scheduled business meeting.
Included in the adopted FY23 Budget is a 5% pay increase for all OPCD employees, also increasing the starting salary for Emergency Communication Specialist to $16.54, a compensation/classification study to further examine and recommend changes to pay plan and benefits, a full replacement of the fire station alerting system, technology upgrades for aging equipment, and deployment of the new law enforcement/jail managing system, Hexagon OnCall Records/Jail.
“I would like to thank the OPCD Board, Mayor Cantrell, City of New Orleans CAO Gilbert Montano, and the New Orleans City Council for their steadfast support of OPCD and the mission we carry out each and every day,” stated OPCD Executive Director, Tyrell Morris. “The approval of this budget will not only allow the agency to recruit and retain the top talent that allows us to be a national public safety leader but also ushers in new technological improvements to an aging system and creates a unified law enforcement and jail management system that will allow for better cohesion amongst the various city agencies.”
With the adoption of the FY23 proposed budget Emergency Communications Specialist will now receive a starting salary of $16.54/hr versus the current $15.75/hr. This payment plan was proposed so that the agency may stay competitive. The budget also includes a 5% pay increase for all OPCD employees effective January 1st, 2023, that the agency has modeled after the City of New Orleans and their similar payment plan for its staff. Alongside the pay increase, OPCD will be undergoing a compensation study to determine if changes to the salary and benefits currently offered are needed to attract top talent.
Also included in the budget are a complete replacement of the fire station alerting system, technology upgrades for aging equipment that will allow for needed replacements, and the deployment of Hexagon OnCall Records system that will allow for all public safety agencies and jails to upload and exchange information within the same cloud sharing database.
“The adopted FY23 budget for OPCD showcases efficiency and effectiveness on the part of Executive Director Morris and his team,” stated OPCD Board Chairman John Thomas. “The OPCD board is impressed with the allocation of dollars and is eager to see the fruit of OPCD’s efforts in the future.”
About Orleans Parish Communications District (www.OPCDLA.gov)
Formed in 1982, the Orleans Parish Communication District is the public safety answering point (PSAP) for all emergency communications via 9-1-1 within Orleans Parish. The agency employs over 180 individuals and provides emergency medical dispatch, emergency fire dispatch, and emergency police dispatch for the millions of annual visitors and residents of the City of New Orleans. OPCD is a member of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).