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Commission approves supplemental pay increases for sheriff and clerk staff, moves $75,000 to ambulance fee account
Summary
At a May 15 special meeting the Hampshire County Commission approved increases to longstanding supplemental pay for deputies and clerks who handle ambulance-related duties and authorized a $75,000 transfer from the ambulance no-fee account into the fee account to cover payroll into June.
The Hampshire County Commission on May 15 approved raises to supplemental pay for sheriff and clerk staff who handle ambulance-related administrative duties, and authorized a $75,000 transfer between ambulance accounts to cover payroll into June. The commission said the actions respond to increased workload tied to fee collection, payroll and data maintenance for county ambulance activities.
Commissioners were told the sheriff’s supplemental-pay plan would raise the long-standing $100 monthly supplement (in place about eight years) to $416.67 per month for the chief tax deputy and $250 per month for each of four tax deputies, a change described in the meeting record as producing roughly $17,000 in annual cost. The clerk’s office requested increasing a $100 supplement to $250 per month for two staff performing similar ambulance-related duties.
Board discussion focused less on the amounts and more on where the money should come from. Several commissioners warned that using ambulance reserves could worsen coverage shortfalls already projected for the fiscal year; others argued the increases were warranted because the workload has grown while the supplement had not. The commission first approved the supplemental-pay requests and then voted separately to fund those increases from the ambulance (HCSA) fee account rather than the general county budget. The record shows the funding-source motion carried with at least one recorded dissent.
Separately, the commission approved a transfer of $75,000 from the ambulance no-fee account to the fee account to cover payroll into June. Clerk remarks during the meeting said the transfer would carry payroll into mid-July at best but would not restore full staffing. Commissioners asked that staff continue close coordination with HCSA and provide updated projections before further transfers or supplemental budget actions.
The commission did not name individual motion-makers in the public record presented at the meeting; votes were taken by voice and summarized in the minutes. The commission also received a brief clerk announcement about upcoming board appointment deadlines before adjourning.
