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Health workers get pay hike |
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Friday, 11 December 2009 |
By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
Employees of the Auglaize County Health Department can expect to see higher paychecks in 2010.
After an executive session Tuesday, Auglaize County Health Board members approved a 1.5 percent pay increase for all of the department’s 30 employees for 2010.
Employees received a 3 percent pay increase in 2009.
In comparison, Auglaize County employees did not receive a pay increase for 2009, and the Auglaize County
Commissioners have made no decision regarding pay increases for 2010. Elected office holders were told to figure salary amounts based off of 2008 rates, the last time employees were given pay increases.
While the county Health Department is listed as a county agency, it is its own entity, operating under the Health Board and makes separate financial decisions.
“Even though the consumer price index is showing almost negative, that’s not been our experience,” Auglaize County Health Commissioner Charlotte Parsons said.
She said the cost of groceries and other items is not staying stable.
Parsons said they also are still trying to get their pay rates so they are comparable to other county health departments in the state with similar populations.
“We keep trying to continue to move toward that,” Parsons said.
She said they have been in the low range for a while.
“We continue to move toward it, but we can’t make a big jump in one year because we don’t have the influx of funds to do that,” Parsons said. “Once we make a change we also have to be able to support it continuously.”
She said the pay raises and subsequent benefits add up to an approximate $17,000 increase in the Health Department’s budget for 2010.
Details of that budget are still being worked out.
“We’re thrilled we can offer this,” Parsons said. “We were afraid we would not be able to afford pay increases, but we’re very glad we can afford to do that.”
She said Health Board members has pinched pennies for a long time and their conservative approach to spending has helped the Health Department remain economically stable and sustain the budget despite reductions in grant funding.
“Because we’ve been very careful with expenditures, because of the stability the levy money provides we’ve been able to do this,” Parsons said. “If we were only relying on state and federal money it would be a lot different.”
In other business, board members agreed to pay the IRS mileage reimbursement rate during 2010.
The Health Department has followed that rate for eight years. It is decreasing 5 cents to 50 cents in 2010.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 11 December 2009 )
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