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Residents and DSS staff urge higher pay, hazardous pay during Washington County budget hearing
Summary
At a June 1 budget hearing, county residents and Department of Social Services workers urged higher pay and hazardous pay for frontline staff; County Manager Curtis Potter said pay-table comparisons will be provided but may not be ready before the budget is adopted.
The Washington County Board of Commissioners opened a public hearing on the recommended FY2020-21 budget on June 1, 2020, and heard repeated calls for higher pay for Department of Social Services (DSS) employees.
Zina Rhodes of 4 Tipton Drive told the Board she had heard only six reclassifications were included in the budget and said vehicle operator pay lagged neighboring counties. "I heard that only 6 reclassifications of positions were in the budget," Rhodes said, urging the Board to revisit compensation for Riverlight Transit operators.
Keron Bass, a DSS employee, described the pressures facing social workers during the pandemic and asked for a pay increase. "Some sort of increase in pay would go a long way in the morale of the DSS employees," Bass said. DSS employee Kenora Bell, who said she has worked at DSS for 5½ years, suggested hazardous pay as one alternative, noting other counties had used that approach.
County Manager and County Attorney Curtis Potter said he is preparing pay-table comparisons for surrounding counties and will try to provide averages and position-level numbers, but he did not expect all of that information to be ready before the Board must act on the budget. Potter told commissioners COVID-19 work has limited staff capacity but pledged to "try to run the numbers of the positions discussed tonight."
Why it matters: DSS staff are frontline service providers during the COVID-19 pandemic; compensation and hazard-pay decisions affect recruitment, morale and continuity of services for vulnerable residents.
What the Board did: The Board kept the public hearing open for testimony and then closed it after public comments. The budget process will continue with a budget work session scheduled for June 11, when commissioners asked staff to bring compensation-study results and department-specific questions.
Next steps: The Board scheduled a budget work session for June 11 at 6:00 p.m., when commissioners said they expect more detailed compensation information. The county manager said he will attempt to provide pay comparisons and averages before further budget action.
