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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County's newest commissioner spoke Wednesday about his concern over the starting salaries associated with efforts to fill vacant deputy sheriff positions.
Dave Kessling, who took office this month and is now chairing the county's salary board which met Wednesday, said the $15.52 hourly starting pay for sheriff deputies is generating below-poverty level wages and contributing to the county's ongoing issue of finding and retaining employees.
"Yours isn't the only office with pay under the poverty level," Kessling told Sheriff James Ott, who asked the salary board Wednesday to recreate three full-time and two part-time deputy positions at the hourly starting rate, equating to $32,281 for full-time and $23,404 for part-time work.
The salary board approved Ott's request, allowing him to move forward with efforts to find candidates to fill the vacant positions.
"What we're paying is not adequate," Ott told Kessling and fellow salary board members, Commissioner Amy Webster and Controller A.C. Stickel on Wednesday. "I've been saying that for years."
Stickel pointed out to the board that Ott's requests under consideration Wednesday addressed union-represented positions whose salaries are subject to labor negotiations and approval by the county commissioners.
The salary board's role, Stickel said, was solely to decide if the jobs should be recreated.
In 2022, when the county and the union representing sheriff deputies were negotiating a new contract, Ott and then-Chief Deputy Christopher Tater asked commissioners and salary board members to consider a higher hourly starting pay in light of the difficulty in finding job candidates.
The commissioners at that time, Bruce Erb, Laura Burke and Amy Webster, subsequently approved a negotiated contract increasing the starting pay for a deputy sheriff from $15.39 to $15.52 per hour. That hourly rate remained intact in 2023 and remains intact through December when the current contract expires.
In response to Kessling's comments about employees with below-poverty level wages, Webster commented that the county has a lot of employees who work to address their household situations, such as the need for a second income or insurance coverage.
Ott said that his deputies are deserving of more money in light of their daily work and related risks.
"We're the second largest law enforcement agency in the county," Ott said.
Based on the salary board's action Wednesday, Ott is in a position to hire three full-time deputies and two part-time deputies. Those interested should file an online application through www.blairco.org
The salary board also agreed Wednesday to allow Ott to recreate a gun permit clerk position in his office, at $12.16 per hour or $22,131 annually.
It also approved a request from Prothonotary Robin Patton, who asked to recreate a part-time receptionist/clerk position in her office, at $11.03 per hour, at no more than 999 hours, and Stickel's request to recreate a non-union administrative assistant position in his office, at an hourly wage rate of $13.40 to $14.74 per hour, depending on prior experience.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.