At its regular meeting on Dec. 1, the St. Joseph County Council approved just over $59,000 in hazard pay for some county employees who faced exposure to the coronavirus.
In the spring, the County Council moved $850,000 originally intended for the leaf pickup program to hazard pay for county employees.
The Sheriff’s Department was awarded about half of that in July, and 13 departments made requests for the remaining $434,000.
Councilwoman Diana Hess explained the council ranked the departments on a three-tier system, with “one” representing the most employee exposure to the coronavirus, and “three” being the least.
They also asked departments to fund their own hazard pay through any unspent salary lines in their budgets. After that, Hess said only five departments needed full or partial compensation from the council’s fund.
The ordinance still needs to be approved the County Board of Commissioners. The commission's next meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Contact Gemma at gdicarlo@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @gemma_dicarlo
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