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Fire chief warns staffing churn drives overtime; asks court to approve $1-per-hour raise now
Summary
Winchester-Clark County fire department leaders told the fiscal court the department faces high attrition and training costs, proposed a $1-an-hour across-the-board raise (with a possible second $1 in January), and recommended changes to part-time pay, lateral-pay premiums and employment contracts.
Fire department leadership told the Winchester-Clark County Fiscal Court that retention and training costs have driven heavy overtime and operational stress, and proposed immediate pay changes the department says are affordable within its current payroll forecast.
Chief Clark Hancock (presenting) said the department currently lists 34 personnel and is operating at near-full strength, but long-term shortages and frequent turnover raise safety and overtime costs. Hancock said the department's minimum safe staffing is eight per shift and that in recent years the service has experienced attrition rates of 42% (2023) and 30% (2024) among newly hired personnel. He said the department spent roughly $208,000 on unscheduled overtime last year and that training new firefighters is labor- and…
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