By John Estridge
Franklin County Council just finished a budget workshop for the 2021 budget where no county employees received raises and many council members expressed relief no one was laid off.
Why, is a two-edged sword: falling revenue due to the pandemic and former councils who raided the county’s Insurance Fund for several years to beef up the General Fund. Thus, council members this year had to do the opposite: take money that usually would have been designated for the General Fund and put it toward the Insurance Fund.
Tuesday night, on the last day of August, FC Health Board member Jennifer Profitt, attending the meeting via Zoom, made an impassioned plea for council to give a positive salary adjustment to county health nurse Angie Ruther.
Profitt reminded council members health board members wrote council two letters concerning the situation. One was dated June 23 and the other August 4.
Health board members would like Ruther to receive a $4,753 positive salary adjustment – an equity adjustment — from $43,051 to $47,804.
Profitt said that would bring Ruther closer to what other county health nurses make within other counties in Indiana.
In the letter, health board members said Ruther, among her other duties, is also a supervisor of the health department.
Profitt reiterated that and talked more about the increase in responsibilities and the increase in stress related to the ongoing pandemic.
“We reviewed her job description and what’s being asked of her now because of the COVID pandemic issue and looking at the responsibilities and salary of other individuals doing the same job in the county,” Profitt said.
Profitt said both the county coroner and county nurse need to have their salaries increased because of the pandemic.
“It seems to me, not only as a board member, but the pandemic has two particular individuals in our community, the coroner and our health department supervisor, for being asked to do jobs that they didn’t sign contracts for,” she continued. “These are extraordinary times. And it seems to me (salary adjustment is) the least you can do especially for the health department and the hostility they receive. I know we are getting good support from the commissioners in dealing with citizenry who are not in compliance.”
She said the least the county can do is bring up the wages, for people in those two positions, to make them more commiserate with other counties in the area. Also, Profitt said the request “was beyond fair, and it is only $4,753 is shocking and almost embarrassing to ask for that.”
Council member Rebecca Oglesby said no county employees received increases in pay for 2021.
“You have to realize that no one got a raise,” Oglesby said. “I know you’re saying it’s a salary adjustment, but this just isn’t a good time.”
Council president Jeff Koch said, for himself personally, it goes beyond just no increases in pay, but he has a goal of not laying anyone off in 2021.
“You have to understand we’re sending a budget in (to the state) that we’re still going to be $400,000 short from what our revenues are going to be,” Koch said. “We’re still trying to figure out what our health insurance costs are going to be. There’s a lot of other things going on. And we do not want to, we do not want to, I should not say that, let me back up: I do not want to layoff anybody. That’s my number one goal. I want to keep personnel. And there’s plenty on council who feel the same way. But I’m not going to speak for them. For right now, and I absolutely understand everyone, everyone is under a lot of stress right now. And everyone deserves much more. But right now when they’re projecting we’re going to be down 10 percent (in revenue) for next year. I hope it is just 10, but no one knows. That’s what we’re dealing with. I just don’t want the next thing we do is laying people off.”
Profitt said her concern is people within the county in the middle of the pandemic are going to look elsewhere for higher paying jobs. She said the health department supervisor is vital to the health of almost 24,000 people.
“That’s their choice,” Oglesby said of employees leaving.
“I understand the principle that you are describing that you’re not going to lay anybody off,” Profitt said. “I get that, I feel that in my marrow, but I also know that something henceforth for just $4,700 — my goodness — please reconsider sir.”
Before council moved on to other business, Profitt thanked the members for all they do for the county.