Martin County board approves 40 hours of COVID-19 leave for 21 DSS clerical and caseworker staff

The Martin County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on April 24, 2020 to grant 21 Department of Social Services clerical and income-maintenance employees 40 hours of COVID-19 leave over a two-week period beginning May 4, 2020. Commissioner Ronnie Smith made the motion and Vice Chairman Dempsey Bond seconded; the board approved the measure with Chairman Tommy Bowen, Bond, Commissioner Elmo “Butch” Lilley and Smith voting for it and Commissioner Joe R. Ayers voting against it.

County Manager David Bone told the board that recent operational changes tied to the county’s COVID-19 response — including the courthouse being open by appointment only, benefits renewals being handled by the State through an automated process through the end of May 2020, and relaxed utility-disconnection rules — had reduced the routine workload for clerical staff and income-maintenance caseworkers. “There had been numerous conversations in recent days regarding the special circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 response,” Bone said, describing an effort to keep staff engaged while responding to changing needs.

Letecia Loadholt, director of the Department of Social Services, explained that many DSS programs depend on economic eligibility and that automatic state renewals and relaxed documentation requirements had cut the volume of in-person and casework tasks. She told commissioners that reimbursements offsetting the county’s personnel costs include a 75% reimbursement rate for Medicaid work and a 50% rate for SNAP-related work, and she said those reimbursements meant the county was not paying 100% of salaries for the affected positions.

Commissioner Ronnie Smith asked for clarification on the federal and state funding mechanics; Loadholt described the day-sheet documentation used to calculate reimbursements and recited the 75%/50% figures. Commissioner Joe R. Ayers opposed the leave plan on fairness grounds, saying it would “allow 21 employees to work half-time and earn emergency leave, with no leave plan in place for the other 150+ employees of the County.” Ayers asked that his opposition be recorded in the minutes.

The approved leave provides 40 hours of COVID-19 leave to the identified 21 DSS clerical and income-maintenance staff over the two-week period covering the weeks of May 4 and May 11, 2020. The board directed that the policy be re-evaluated at the end of that period.

With no further business, Commissioner Smith moved to adjourn, Vice Chairman Bond seconded, and Chairman Bowen adjourned the meeting at 3:19 p.m.