WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS APPROVE E-911 STIPEND PAY

  

Washington County Commissioners approved stipend pay for the county’s E-911 department at their meeting today (Tuesday).

The court approved overtime differential pay, temporary assignment pay and extra compensation for night shift workers.

E-911 Director Robyn Hood said the measures are intended to address the burden on current employees within the dispatching department brought on by a lack of needed staff members.

 

Hood said the overtime differential pay will be used to further incentivize employees to pick up voluntary shifts, while an additional $1 per hour stipend will reward employees who take the night shift.  The temporary assignment pay will compensate employees who take on the role of training new workers.

Update @ 6:40 a.m. Wednesday: According to Hood, communications training officers will receive $2 per hour when they are assigned a trainee.  The overtime differential pay is $8.33 per hour if the employee works an additional 12-hour shift to cover for minimum staffing.  The county is still taking applications for telecommunication officers.

Hood said four new hires are slotted to come into the department March 20^th, and will be released from training in late June or early July.  She said the department will look to hire remaining staff in mid-July to early August, and hopes to be fully staffed by early October.

Also at today’s meeting, the court agreed to terminate the 2002 interlocal agreement between the county and the City of Brenham regulating subdivision standards within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), and approve a new interlocal agreement for subdivision standards.

County Engineer Wesley Stolz explained that with the old agreement, the city held ETJ platting jurisdiction while the county was responsible for reviewing infrastructure.  He said the new agreement allows the county to take over ETJ platting and infrastructure review, and should make it easier for developers instead of having to go through two entities.

In other action, the court approved several purchases for the EMS department, including a 2023 Ford F-450 diesel regular cab chassis for $55,000 and the remount of a 14-foot ambulance module to a chassis for $67,175, both with American Rescue Plan Act funds.  Commissioners also approved an upfit conversion of a Ford F-250 for $36,605 using EMS donation funds, a remount of an E-2868 Type 1 14-foot module for $77,275 using funds originally budgeted in 2021, new EMS graphics for two chassis units for a total of $9,910 using American Rescue Plan Act funding, and two Panasonic Toughbook computers, keyboards and warranties for $9,937 with American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Commissioners also:

• Approved a contract amendment for annual renewal of the existing EMS Management and Consultants contract for revenue recovery and revenue cycle management.
• Heard a presentation of a preliminary plat of the Bluebonnet Ridge subdivision, a residential development by Moore Williams, LLC, consisting of three blocks with 21 lots fronting Chadwick-Hogan Road in Precinct 2.
• Approved a final plat of the Independence Trail subdivision, a development by The GCF Group, consisting of 13 residential lots fronting FM 390 West in Precinct 3.
• Approved formal notices from Corix Utilities for 2-inch road bores for new water service lines on Allen Road and Ike Lane in Precinct 1.