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Pawnee County EMS director seeks task-differential pay and county email addresses for staff
Summary
EMS Director Kara Lawrence presented a proposed task-differential policy, requested County email accounts for staff who currently use personal addresses, and said differentials are budgeted for 2026. Commissioners asked for follow-up information and requested Lawrence return with a final recommendation.
Kara Lawrence, Pawnee County EMS Director, told commissioners at the Jan. 26 meeting that she has budgeted the proposed task-differential pay into the department’s 2026 budget and asked for county email addresses for EMS staff, who currently use personal addresses.
Lawrence outlined application costs her department currently pays and presented the annual cost of a new application she requested. She said staff use cellphones to access protocols and that some protocols are updated when medication changes or new situations arise. "This is how I communicate with my employees," Lawrence said, explaining the importance of County email for official communication.
Commissioners asked whether every employee would need a county email account; Lawrence said it is her primary method of communicating with employees. She also described a $0.25 differential for CPR trainers that requires staff to teach two CPR classes per year and maintain certification on their own time. Commissioner Burdett raised concerns about differential pay while Lawrence said the amounts are within her 2026 budget.
The board asked Lawrence to return at a later date with a final recommendation on differential pay. The minutes also note the commissioners had requested emergency-room visit counts from Pawnee Valley Community Hospital for 2025 but had not yet received that report.
