The Greene County Commission approved all items on their agenda after spending the majority of the meeting hearing from citizens during a public hearing, hearing from the mayor on proclamations, as well as discussions on old business.
Commissioners heard from Jail Administrator Captain John Key, who has worked at the jail since 1988. He gave a presentation on the jail and their staffing issue. He requested for commissioners to consider a proposal that will be brought before them soon, regarding a pay increase for officers. With the current pay at $15.68, he feels there’s no incentive for officers to want to stay in Greene County. Officers get the same pay regardless of amount of years someone has worked and many feel that is not right.
He stated they haven’t had a full staff in years and no one wants to work anymore. It’s the same for the EMS department and others who are understaffed like the Highway Department. All departments are currently hiring and are encouraging people to apply. Greene County used to have one of the biggest competitive salary wages according to Captain Key, and is now one of the lowest. He said with the jail being understaffed, patrol officers have to be taken off the road. And when it comes to the hiring process, not enough people are applying or even make it past the first steps, making it harder to get a full staff.
Commissioner Paul Burkey stated that this was a topic that was discussed with the Budget and Finance committee and that budgets were being looked at and considered for pay increase.
