Emery County commissioners debate $39,200 on-call pay to keep winter crews ready

Emery County commissioners discussed a proposal to pay road staff for on-call availability during the four-month winter period to ensure prompt snow removal and public safety. Speaker 1 described the proposal and operational need, saying the county would pay employees who can respond within 30 minutes and noted, “You get 2 hours of pay, per day straight time if you’re available within a half hour.” The proposal’s estimated annual cost discussed by commissioners was about $39,200.

Proponents argued the payment would ensure rapid responses during storms when crews often run as many as six routes and sometimes mobilize up to a dozen workers for large events. Speaker 1 and others stressed that in practice the county sends multiple graders, water trucks and pickups for bigger storms and that insufficient staffing could leave routes uncleared.

Opponents cautioned about budget precedent and timing. Speaker 2 said salary-like items should come from normal operations and warned against using capital-project funds for recurring pay, noting on-call pay would be placed on checks for November through February irrespective of how much it snows. Speaker 3 suggested a compromise of temporarily setting the sum aside (delaying an equipment purchase) to test the program for a season, while others counseled caution about creating recurring payroll obligations.

The commissioners did not record a final vote in the transcript. The discussion closed with direction to evaluate funding sources and the operational parameters (how many employees would be on call and when the pay would start and end) before making a final decision.