Bonuses considered for new dispatchers
Staff reporter
The county director of communications wants to offer sign-on bonuses to attract more applicants.
Michele Abbott-Becker asked Marion County Commission to consider the bonus idea during Friday's meeting.
Abbott-Becker had expressed concerns about filling open dispatcher positions within her department. Currently her employees have to work extra shifts to fill those open slots.
"I'm having a tough time getting applicants," she said, adding she hoped a bonus would be an enticement.
"This (dispatcher position) is not something we can go without," commissioner Dan Holub said. "We need to do something to attract applicants."
The commission agreed, however, instead of providing sign-on bonuses, to maybe offer bonuses after one year of employment as an incentive to keep trained employees.
Abbott-Becker was asked to bring a proposal to the commission for consideration.
She then asked for a five-minute executive session to discuss personnel with assistant county clerk/payroll clerk Tina Spencer in attendance. An additional 10 minutes was called. The meeting reconvened with no decisions.
In other business:
— Emergency medical services director Larry Larsen presented documentation regarding his on-call pay.
He explained that EMS crew chiefs keep track of on-call hours of each individual technician. The information then is turned in to Woody Crawshaw, EMS office manager, for disbursement of pay.
Larsen further explained that he will not be paid for being on-call during the hours he serves as EMS director.
The commission asked the approximate number of hours per month he is on-call for other communities. Larsen responded about 20 hours per month with approximately six to eight in Marion, 12 to 16 in Peabody, and some in Tampa. He said he has not served in Florence or Hillsboro.
A shortage of volunteers may require some services to be unavailable, Dallke said.
Holub asked and received a five-minute executive session with Larsen to discuss personnel. The session then was extended an additional 10 minutes. When the meeting reconvened, there were no decisions.
