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Vernon County committee forwards amended emergency shift incentive language after sheriff asks for holiday extension
Summary
The General Government Committee voted to forward a resolution revising the Sheriff’s Office Emergency Shift Incentive Policy — including a $25 per-shift incentive — to the full County Board after Sheriff Torgerson asked that the policy’s 48-hour limit be extended to 72 hours when a county-paid holiday falls within that period.
The Vernon County General Government Committee on Nov. 5 voted to forward a resolution to the full County Board revising the Sheriff’s Office Emergency Shift Incentive Policy.
Sheriff Torgerson told the committee he was "requesting the 48 hour limit be extended to 72 hours when one of the 10 county paid holidays is part of the 48 hours." Committee members discussed that request during Human Resources’ presentation on the Incentive Pay Policy and a compromise drafted after HR met with the Sheriff.
HR Director Trisha Lepke reported ongoing HR work, including HRIS implementation, recruitment metrics and employee counts, and said the proposed resolution would clarify the internal policy’s purpose. Chief Deputy Campbell reiterated the Sheriff’s request for the extended timeframe while Supervisor Jacobson questioned whether added time was necessary given that holidays at the Sheriff’s Office are not automatically days off.
The motion approved by the committee would revise Resolution 2024-34 to create a $25 shift incentive in certain cases and forward the change to the County Board with a recommendation for approval. The committee added that the policy would be revisited if there are documented problems with implementation.
The committee recorded the personnel and operational context — HR reported it had processed 47 applications, conducted 8 interviews, completed 1 new hire and 6 separations since the last meeting, and listed a current employee count of 284 — as background to the policy discussion. The committee approved the resolution on a voice vote and recommended it to the County Board.
