Trending
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County has about 100 job openings, with some departments struggling more than others to fill vacant positions at a time when the county's unemployment rate is less than 3 percent.
Sheriff James Ott said Wednesday that he is looking for job applicants who can fill nine deputy positions and two office positions.
Blair County 911 Coordinator Sue Ammerman told the salary board on Wednesday that in addition to four telecommunicator positions the board authorized filling at $16.30 an hour, the center has seven additional vacant telecommunicator positions.
The salary board, which meets twice a month to consider job-related matters, fielded 18 requests Wednesday, including ones from Ott and Ammerman.
Human Resources Director Katherine Swigart said Wednesday that the county has about 100 job vacancies, about the same amount that it has had in recent months.
But some county offices and departments are reporting more trouble than others in trying to find qualified candidates to fill an increasing amount of vacancies. And they're associating that difficulty with low pay levels.
Ott said that while he was able to hire deputies last year at the starting rate of $15.52 per hour, his office isn't retaining them.
"They're going to other (local) positions where they can make $4 or $5 an hour more," Ott said.
Prison Warden Abbie Tate got the salary board's OK on her request to fill two lieutenant positions, at $52,571 annually, with one candidate having already been identified.
But Tate also spoke of the difficulty she expects to encounter when trying to hire a correctional case manager to work with the inmates on various matters, including pre-release plans.
The salary board approved the pay for that job at $11.58 an hour, as set in the last union-negotiated contract, equated to $21,075 annually based on a 35-hour work week.
Tate said the last person who held the correctional case manager job qualified for public assistance and resigned to take a job with a local restaurant at $18 an hour.
Commissioner Laura Burke said she would like to see the salary for the correctional case manager position adjusted during the next union contract negotiation.
Fellow commissioner Dave Kessling agreed and said that as union contracts come up for bargaining, he wants to take a closer look at the affected salaries.
Kessling also spoke of creating a new salary study, an item that commissioners discussed while planning the 2024 budget.
Among clerical jobs to be filled, based on Wednesday's salary board action, are a receptionist position in the court administration office at $10.50 per hour, a receptionist/clerk position in the prothonotary office at $11.03 per hour, a departmental clerk II position in the domestic relations office at $11.58 per hour, warrant clerk in the sheriff's office at $11.58 an hour and a clerk typist/receptionist for the Children,Youth & Families office at $13 per hour.
On the receptionist in the court administration office, President Judge Wade Kagarise told the salary board, "We have trouble keeping anyone in that position at $10.50 an hour."
The salary board members also set a rate of $15.66 per hour for an administrative coordinator to be hired in the commissioner's office. Based on the salary study, the position's hourly pay range was set at $14.77 to $16.25.
While Burke advocated for the $16.25 an hour based on the job candidate's qualifications, salary board members Kessling, Amy Webster and Controller A.C. Stickel supported the lower rate.
Prior to voting, Burke pointed out that the candidate had a college degree, a factor to be recognized based on the county's adopted pay policy. Webster countered that the job doesn't require a college degree and proposed no recognition when setting the pay rate. That prompted Burke to ask Webster if she had voted for the pay policy.
Webster said she may have voted in favor, but that was during the prior term when her vote wasn't particularly relevant.
Stickel subsequently commented that while the adopted pay policy has been valuable, it's not perfect.
Additional jobs to be filled, based on Wednesday's action, include a part-time groundskeeper for Valley View Park within a pay range of $13.40 to $14.74 an hour, a caseworker position in the domestic relations office at $15.52 per hour, an assistant district attorney position at $50,500 annually, a deputy controller position at $52,571 annually, a chief deputy sheriff at $51,968 annually, a program manager in the Children, Youth & Families office at a range of $59,223 to $63,961 annually and a program specialist in the Children, Youth & Families office at a range of $45,004 to $48,605 annually.
Information about the county's job openings and qualifications are posted on its website at www.blairco.org.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.