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Cole County considers temp janitorial contracts, overtime and pay changes amid maintenance staffing shortage
Summary
Cole County commissioners discussed a shortfall in maintenance staff, explored temporary janitorial contracts and overtime, and directed staff to post openings and seek bids for janitorial services and lawn care.
Commissioners reviewed persistent staffing shortages in the county maintenance department and discussed short-term options including hiring temporary janitorial contractors, mandating overtime and advertising open positions.
The maintenance director told commissioners starting pay for maintenance positions is $15 per hour and said that temporary staffing agencies quoted a $25-per-hour billing rate. Commissioners and staff clarified the county would be billed by the temporary firm at the higher rate while the temporary worker’s take-home pay would typically be lower; one staff member said the temporary firm would bill about $25 while the worker might be paid roughly $17. The county’s limitations on temporary hires were also discussed: temporary workers provided by agencies generally cannot perform certain tasks such as ladder work or operate power equipment and would be limited to janitorial duties.
Commissioners discussed operational options: extend maintenance staff hours (for example shifting start times), mandate short-term overtime, hire a janitorial contractor for building cleaning, or post and recruit for permanent positions. The group directed staff to post the open maintenance position, contact the temp service to check availability, prepare a request for proposals (RFP) for janitorial services, and consider temporary overtime while bids are solicited.
Speakers noted operational trade-offs: paying overtime consumes existing benefit-paid staff hours but avoids the additional employer costs charged by a temp firm; contracting out janitorial work would remove janitorial responsibilities from in-house maintenance teams but would require managing scope and vendor selection. The commission also discussed prior bids for lawn care and asked staff to retrieve previous bid documents for review.
Ending: Commissioners directed immediate recruitment steps and to pursue a three-month temporary plan while soliciting bids for long-term janitorial or lawn-care contracts.
