Huerfano County raises emergency communications on-call pay to $25 per shift

The Huerfano County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve an update to the county’s emergency communications on-call policy that sets on-call compensation at $25 per shift and asks staff to evaluate the policy’s effectiveness during the next budget process.

County staff presented a draft policy adapted from other Colorado counties and said the proposed $25 per-shift payment is consistent with local practices. "This year, it's probably about 2 ish thousand dollars, and, of course, a regular year, full year, about 4 ish thousand," the presenter said when describing the estimated annual cost of the increase.

Commissioners debated the per-shift amount briefly and approved the policy change. When the board called the vote, Commissioners Wardell and Chamberlain and Chairman Spooley voted yes. The motion carried.

The board’s approval includes an explicit direction to evaluate the policy’s effectiveness and consider another possible increase during the budget cycle. No amendment to the underlying on-call eligibility or scheduling rules was adopted in the meeting.

The item originated as a staff-drafted policy intended to align the county’s communications compensation with practices used elsewhere in Colorado. The presentation noted consultation with communication-center personnel and comparison to peer counties. The county did not specify in the meeting any new funding source; presenters described the projected cost as modest and within existing appropriations.