By SALINA POST
Incentives for corrections officers, a preliminary canvass of primary election votes, and jail-related issues are among the items on the Saline County Commission agenda for Tuesday.
About the meeting
Saline County Commission is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday in room 107 of the City-County Building, 300 W. Ash Street. The meetings also can be viewed on Saline County’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwwZp_cTSJ3Nepp_5rOGevA.
To participate in the meetings, citizens will need to use the Zoom link. Use the following link and put in the Meeting ID and passcode:
https://zoom.us/j/96835819901?pwd=bUEvaExUb2ppMEFaUnd6cUd6MmNMUT09
Meeting ID: 968 3581 9901
Passcode: 144636
For further information, contact the County Commission’s Office at (785) 309-5825.
Agenda items
Commissioners are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. with a preliminary vote canvass from the Aug. 2 primary with County Clerk Jamie Doss. The official full canvass of votes is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday in room 107B of the City-County Building, 300 W. Ash Street.
Commissioners also are scheduled to consider a request to increase through the remainder of 2022 a hiring incentive to aid in the county's efforts to hire corrections officers.
Currently, three corrections officer positions are open due to normal turnover, according to information in the commission meeting packet. Additionally, the county has not yet been able to hire 14 new corrections officer positions that were approved for 2022. If approved during the current budget process, 10 additional positions would need to be filled beginning in 2023.
"More and more employers, including existing Saline County departments, are providing early increased wages and hiring/retention incentives," the request for action information noted.
The sheriff's office and human resources is asking commissioners to temporarily change the hiring incentive for corrections officers from $1,500 to $5,000 through the end of 2022. Additionally, they are requesting that a $5,000 retention incentive for all existing staff in the Jail Division of the sheriff's office be approved "in recognition of their dedication and to make a statement of support to all these employees continuing to work in the Jail," according to request for action information.
"There are 73 eligible staff, for a total expense of $365,000. Due to the current staff shortages, existing salary dollars are available in the amount of $379,000 to fund the hiring and retention incentives to be paid from September through December," the request for action information noted.
Other items on the Saline County Commission agenda for Tuesday include the following.
●Consider approving a request for a storm water easement for the new Saline County Jail.
●Consider entering into an agreement for architectural design services for the courtroom remodel project.
●Hear a new jail project update from County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes
●Have an aggregate discussion with Darren Fishel, Road and Bridge administrator
●Hear Smith-Hanes' update
To see the full Saline County Commission packet, a 108-page pdf, click here.