The Marshall County Council members spent time Monday morning to discuss the state of wages for employees who work for Marshall County government, especially in these economic times.
The topic was sparked by Marshall County Highway Superintendent Jason Peters who said he may lose employees because of pay – specifically CDL drivers.
“The fact is companies are looking to government employees as a place to target, or solicit employees,” stated Peters. “We’ve actually had a few employees that have been contacted from outside sources trying to pull people from the highway. It’s not just our department. This has been going on in a lot of departments around us right now.”
He said about five people could leave the Highway Department if Marshall County government leaders are idle on this issue.
Peters continued, “I feel we have to do what we can to keep the employees we’ve got. I know these are not simple tasks, but I also know that if nothing’s happening and we lose some more will follow.”
Drivers currently make $21.04 an hour as a base rate when hired, and Peters suggested that it should be raised to around $25 an hour.
Councilman Tim Harman proposed a stipend or retention bonus for CDL drivers as they are valuable employees. He also suggested a reclassification of CDL drivers.
Harman stated, “We’ve been talking about fixing roads for years and it’s money, but it’s also manpower. If you don’t have manpower you’re not going to fix any more roads at the prices that we can afford. I really think we need to take this serious and not wait.”
Councilman Jon VanVactor countered, saying that the commissioners and the council members need to take care of all of the employees that work in county government.
“What I would like to see would be that the commissioners say that they’re willing to pay the employees’ insurance for the rest of this year. I roughly figured that would be about $66,000 – and for them also look to pay all of that in next year’s budget. Let’s face it. They’re the best asset that we have,” said VanVactor.
Harman agreed with VanVactor, but noted the CDL drivers should still be looked at differently in the process.
Commissioners Michael Burroughs and Stan Klotz said they would support the insurance suggestion and officially consider it in an upcoming meeting. Commissioner Kevin Overmyer was not in attendance during Monday’s meeting.
Sheriff Matt Hassel said he is anticipating bringing wage information to the council when it comes to budget time to see what can be done for county officers.
Employee retention was a high point of discussion and the council agreed to schedule a joint session to discuss that with the commissioners following the commissioners meeting Monday, June 20 at 11 a.m. ET in the second floor meeting room (Room 203) in the Marshall County Building at 112 W. Jefferson Street in Plymouth. Auditor Julie Fox commented that the work session would be helpful when discussing potential wage changes with budget hearings coming up. Department heads and elected officials will be invited to attend to give input.
