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In the spring, Albuquerque promised big staffing and morale improvements at its 911 Communications Center.

So far, it has filled 45 positions, but the key hire — the center's leader — remains vacant.

Hundreds of people have applied for the job, but because of tough requirements — namely eight years of center management experience — and a salary offer of $60,000, none of the applicants was qualified or interested after all.

The search has been so difficult that the job requirements were recently changed to four years of management experience and the salary increased to about $110,000, said Pete Dinelli, the deputy city attorney in charge of revamping the center.

Dinelli, who normally handles public nuisance abatement cases, was brought in as temporary director in April to help the center get back on an even keel. Because of vacant positions and mandatory overtime, employee morale and center efficiency had dropped to the point that "we were looking at a serious meltdown," he said.

Things have improved since then, Dinelli said. "We're almost there, if we can fill the last eight positions," he said.

Despite the lack of a center manager, the dispatchers and 911 call-takers have seen a morale boost, he said — especially after raises. Base pay now starts at $17 per hour or $18.31 per hour, depending on the job position.

Union officials representing the center workers were not available for comment Monday.

Holly Steinberg, a former city information 311 hot line manager who transferred to the 911 center with Dinelli, said mandatory overtime — a major contributing factor to low morale and attrition — has declined.

"The dispatchers still have quite a bit of overtime, but not to the same degree," Steinberg said. "Our remaining openings are for dispatchers because it is the harder position."

Dispatchers direct officers where to go. Operators, who answer the 911 calls, are also needed to fill a few open positions, she said.

The 911 center for years has struggled under low salaries, limited hiring and high attrition related to the stress of the job and mandatory overtime.

In January 2006, The Tribune reported that at least one center staff member was working between four and seven hours of mandatory overtime every day, missing birthdays, holidays and soccer games.

New employees would come on board, only to walk out their first week — or first lunch break — managers said at the time.

To top it off, Mayor Martin Chavez transferred Michael Padilla, the leader of the city's successful 311 information hot line, to the 911 center to help rebuild morale and efficiency.

But Padilla resigned after being accused of insulting female employees, including the former center director, who was also removed from the 911 center.

Dinelli, Steinberg and 311 supervisor Diana Lueras then took over center operations.

Dinelli said that while the center still needs his team's oversight until a permanent director is hired, the chaos has declined.

"By and large I believe the place has been turned around," Dinelli said. "I'd say it was a drastic turn-around."