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Page 26
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
May 17, 2013
County Approves Employee Raises
Bus Contractors Get Lower Amount
By SHAWN J. SOPER
NEWS EDITOR
SNOW HILL – Worcester County employees and teachers will get a raise in the upcoming fiscal year, but it likely will not be what they were hoping for. During budget deliberations on Tuesday, the County Commissioners began a line-by-line inspection of the fiscal year 2014 to close the estimated $7 million gap between requested expenditures and anticipated revenue and naturally the conversation eventually came around to salary increases for county employees, teachers and school bus drivers. On the table was an acrossthe-board 2.5-percent salary increase for all county employees including teachers, but after considerable debate, the commissioners voted for the 2-percent increase option. Setting the county employees’ salary increase and Cost of Living
Allowance (COLA) increase at 2 percent would make the entire salary package come at around $1.7 million, or nearly $400,000 less than the 2.5-percent increase. While some commissioners were in favor of the 2-percent increase option, others wanted to hike county employee salaries by the requested 2.5 percent. “We’re supposed to have the best school system in the state, and the state has the best school system in the country,” said Commission President Bud Church. “And yet we’ve dropped from sixth or seventh in the state in terms of salaries to 15th. I’m not sure that’s fair.” County Administrative Director Gerry Mason pointed out the 2percent increase for county employees last year actually resulted in a net deficit. For example, an employee making $30,000 saw an increase of $600 per year with the 2-percent increase, but with taxes SEE NEXT PAGE
County Remains Uncertain How To Initiate School Safety Officers
By SHAWN J. SOPER
NEWS EDITOR
TEAM WONDER WOMEN
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All proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society.
SNOW HILL – County officials this week agreed to keep funding in the proposed fiscal year 2014 budget for school safety, but it remains uncertain just what the finished product will look like. In the wake of the school shooting tragedy in Connecticut last December, local law enforcement and the Worcester County Board of Education formed a school security committee that produced several recommendations for safety improvements to help ensure a similar incident does not occur here. Out of those meetings came three basic recommendations, including a plan to hire 13 new full-time Worcester County sheriff’s deputies, essentially one for each of the county’s 13 public schools. The proposal comes with an estimated price tag of $1.6 million in the first year alone and at least $1 million in each year thereafter. A second proposal would include hiring 13 part-time sheriff’s deputies to man the county’s public schools throughout the school day and that proposal would cost an estimated $604,000. The third proposal would include using municipal police officers from the three towns in the county in which public schools are located along with two new fulltime sheriff’s deputies to cover schools in the county at-large including, for example, Ocean City Elementary and the Worcester County Technical High School. Under that plan, the officers
would only man the schools during arrival and dismissal times and the schools would be on lockdown during regular school hours. That proposal would be the least expensive of the three on the table and would cost an estimated $350,000. During budget deliberations on Tuesday, the County Commissioners weighed each of the proposals, although they did not reach a final decision. After considerable debate, the commissioners decided to leave in the budget the $604,000 for the second option for the time being, although that is not an indication that plan is the favored one. County Administrator Gerry Mason said he had identified a grant that would provide 75 percent of the cost of hiring and outfitting new sheriff’s deputies, but that the funding would only apply to the hiring of full-time deputies. According to Mason, the deadline for applying for the grant is set for May 22, however. Regardless of the final plan chosen, the commissioners said funding should be included to improve the lock-down capabilities of the schools. “The biggest concern I’ve heard is about the lack of protection from inside,” said Commissioner Merrill Lockfaw. “The kids I’ve talked to are more concerned about the threat coming from the inside, not the outside.” After considerable debate, the commissioners decided to hold the $604,000 already listed in the budget and adjust the figure when the final plan is decided upon.
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