Commissioners advance pay increases for county workers
The Fayette County Commissioners Tuesday took action that will lead to salary increases for more than 100 county employees. Commissioners Vincent A. Vicites and Sean M. Cavanagh voted to place on Thursday’s agenda a motion that will grant longevity raises for management and non-union employees. Commissioner Ronald M. Nehls was against the request, saying it was a decision that should be handled by the next administration.
Cavanagh said management employees should have longevity raises. He said he believes that many county department heads are underpaid. Vicites said the plan the county will implement will be consistent with one of the county’s union longevity plans.
Ray W. Snyder, human resources analyst with Select HR, the county’s personnel consultant, said the raises will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2003. He said eligible employees must have eight years of service to receive the first 3 percent salary increase. After the initial bump, employees with 10 years of service will also receive a 3 percent increase.
Snyder said employees will then receive 3 percent increases in five-year intervals after 10 years of employment. He estimated the initial cost will be about $56,000 and said 103 employees will be affected. Although county manager Warren Hughes said there is no money set aside for the raises, Vicites said the county needs to find the money to implement the plan.
Nehls acknowledged that the raises are long overdue, but he said Aug. 26 is not the time to implement the plan. Cavanagh said it should be effective immediately. “We have to find the money,” he said.
In other discussion, the commissioners heard an update regarding the status of the Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation (FACT) transit center building that is being planned for construction at the Connellsville Airport.
Michelle Grant Shumar, head of the Department of Human and Community Services, said while architectural and engineering plans for the $3.1 million facility are moving forward, there are infrastructure concerns regarding water and sewage at the site.
Shumar said Michael S. Molnar Associates and McMillen Engineering have completed the final designs and site plans. The commissioners voted to place on Thursday’s agenda a motion to submit the FACT transit center final design and site plan to the Federal Transit Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Associated Intermodal federal and state departments.
The commissioners also voted to place on Thursday’s agenda a motion to award the professional construction management services for the transit center. Shumar said the lowest bid was $121,000 from URS of Pittsburgh. She said the company has experience with similar facilities.
Regarding water and sewage issues, Cavanagh suggested that the $1.5 million the commissioners recently allocated to the airport from the county bond issue could be used to obtain funding. However, Vicites said he is concerned that using that money could provide a shortfall for the county match amount that will be used toward the proposed runway extension project.
Vicites said he believes the airport authority is looking for a cooperative effort from FACT for funding the infrastructure. Cavanagh suggested that U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown) be contacted to secure federal funds for the infrastructure.
Shumar said initial plans were for installation of a holding tank. She said there will likely not be public sewage until five years down the road and a water partnership could not occur until next fall. However, she said that developers have purchased the adjacent property, which could help the infrastructure plans.
Vicites said plans for the adjacent property include an 80-unit hotel and “other shopping areas.” The airport authority is looking into partnering with the developers for water and sewage. Shumar said she would get together with the commissioners to discuss the cost estimates for water and sewage at the site.
In a related matter, the commissioners voted to place on Thursday’s agenda a motion to rescind a resolution regarding a lease agreement between FACT and Barankin & Associations for operation space at Laurel Mall for $2,000 per month. Shumar said the lease never occurred.
The commissioners voted to consider an agreement between FACT and James Stambaugh to lease space at 231 East Fayette St. for vehicle dispatching and storage. Shumar said the lease will be for about a year and will cost a little under $1,000 per month.
The commissioners voted to place on Thursday’s agenda a motion to approve a request by Fayette County Sheriff Gary Brownfield to sell sheriff department uniforms to Blair County for $1.
Brownfield said the department recently purchased new blue uniforms. He said 95 percent of the old uniforms that sheriff department employees had were donated from Greene County Sheriff Richard Ketchem three years ago. Brownfield said although he was grateful when Ketchem donated the uniforms, they have no further use for them now.
Brownfield said Blair County is one of only two counties in the state that still use brown uniforms.