March 22, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Now that county general employees and sheriff’s department staff have been given pay raises, the county commission will consider passage of a proposed new wage scale for ambulance service workers at the next regular monthly meeting on Monday, March 26.
(CLICK PDF LINK BELOW TO VIEW PROPOSED PAY PLAN FOR DEKALB AMBULANCE SERVICE EMPLOYEES AS RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNTY COMMISSION BY THE BUDGET COMMITTEE)
510 PAYSCALE LOCKED March 22,2018
(CLICK PDF LINK BELOW TO VIEW PROPOSED 24/72 SHIFT SCHEDULE FOR DEKALB AMBULANCE SERVICE EMPLOYEES AS RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNTY COMMISSION BY THE BUDGET COMMITTEE)
Last month, the commission voted to ante up more money to give county general and sheriff’s department employees pay raises retroactive to January 1 but a proposal to increase pay for EMS staff under a plan proposed by Second District Commissioner Joe Johnson was not approved.
Upset by the move, Johnson announced his resignation from the commission as of March 1 in protest.
The budget committee convened before and has met since that February county commission session to consider proposals offered to address the pay of EMS personnel, who were last given a wage increase of 4% two years ago.
After reviewing plans presented in a previous meeting by EMS Director Hoyte Hale and a second plan by Commissioner Johnson, the budget committee Thursday night voted 4-1 to recommend to the county commission a proposal by 4th district commissioner Jonathan Norris. Committee members Wayne Cantrell, Larry Summers, Jerry Adcock, and Jack Barton voted in favor. Jimmy Midgett voted against the proposal apparently preferring another plan.
According to Norris, his plan would cut down on overall EMS overtime hours but would raise each employee’s hourly pay by double digit percentage increases.
“The current pay plan does not have a baseline. Meaning a defined starting point based on Certification and years of service. It also does not have a defined starting and yearly wage chart,” said Commissioner Norris.
“The plan I have proposed, and the budget committee has recommended to the county commission for consideration works like this:
•It will establish a baseline and structure for recognizing certifications and years of service as pay enhancements.
•It will schedule as a 24/72 (24 hours on duty/72 hours off duty) with the first pay period consisting of (2) 48 hour weeks and the second pay period consisting of one 48-hour week and one 24-hour week.
•It will give a double-digit percentage hourly pay raise to each current employee of the EMS
•It reduces the amount of overtime hours employees must work each year from 824 to 312. It reduces the number of regular hours an employee has to work each year from 2080 to 1872
•It will give 10 days off the first two week pay period and 11 days off the second two week pay period, or roughly 21 days per month off.
•Each employee will have off (3) Fridays, (3) Saturdays (3) Sundays per month
•There will also be a pay increase each year for every employee.
•Years 1-4 is a 2% increase each year
•Year 5 is a 6% longevity increase
•Years 6-9 is a 2% increase each year
•Year 10 is a 5% longevity increase.
•Years 11-15 is a 1.5% increase each year
•Year 16+ is a 1% increase each year
•Current employees will automatically get the increase on their scale for service and certification.
•.50 cent increases on the hour are included for shift supervisors
“In order to establish this baseline and pay scale the schedule must change and while all employees will have double digit percentage increases hourly, some employees would not make as much annually as they did in the previous year 2017. This is due to reduction in hours from 2904 hours per year scheduled to 2184 scheduled. But their pay would continue to increase every year of service with fewer hours required.” explained Commissioner Norris.
“Other employees would receive significant increases annually versus 2017 (the current pay scale) and their pay would continue to grow each year while others would stay roughly the same for one year and then increase each year thereafter according to the established scale,” said Norris.
“The idea is to put in a system that balances the pay scale and increases the hourly wages for the EMS personnel. This is something that allows them to increase and make more money by getting increases on years of service and certifications and not having to rely solely on extra overtime to make their living. One that will allow more home and family time for those that want that and the ability to work in conjunction with other places if that is what they prefer. I believe it will also aid in the attraction of new employees and help with the retention of existing employees. It also has to be fiscally smart and not place a huge burden on the citizens of DeKalb county with huge budget jumps. This is something that we can plan for and budget for each year. It is a measurable scale that allows us to realize its true impact and still continue to increase wages that are more than deserved and needed to provide for the citizens of the county and all the Emergency services personnel. Like anything, this may not be perfect, but it does give us the chance to be financially responsible and do more for those that deserve it.” Norris continued.
If the plan should be accepted by the commission, the budget committee has recommended a 3% bonus be added for EMS employees (retroactive to January 1, 2018 thru to the effective date of the raises) in addition to the pay raises (which would not be retroactive). If the proposed plan should fail, the committee has recommended that the 3% bonus be given for January 1, 2018 through to June 30th, 2018 but no new pay scale would be considered until preparation for the new budget for 2018-19.