Sheriff tells Fiscal Court his officers need better pay, benefits to remain competitive
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019 — Nelson County Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa was joined by nearly 20 deputies from his department at Tuesday’s meeting of Nelson Fiscal Court to support his request that the court improve the pay and benefits the county provides members of the sheriff’s office.
When the Nelson County Police was merged by agreement with the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, Nelson Fiscal Court became responsible for paying the salaries of those deputies who patrol the county roads and respond to calls.
Pineiroa told the court that the wages and benefits the county provides his men are no longer competitive when compared to pay and benefits provided by the Bardstown Police Department.
The pay the sheriff’s office can offer has fallen behind, and is $3 to $4 behind that city police department’s pay, making it hard for Pineiroa to recruit new deputies.
Pineiroa said the cost for health insurance for deputies who have family insurance is very expensive, and the city pays extra to help defray the health insurance cost for its police officers.
Health insurance costs are largely dependent on an entity’s claims, Judge Executive Dean Watts explained. If the county has a year with a lot of expensive insurance claims, the next year’s insurance rates will reflect that.
Magistrate Gary Coulter suggested the county get a quote for health insurance from the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo). Watts said he could do that, but added that the rates are still dependent on a prior year’s claims, and there’s no guaranteed savings on rates.
Watts acknowledged that there’s work to be done on the sheriff’s office pay and benefits, and that he continues to work on it.
ROAD FUNDS. The court approved a resolution that will allow the county to accept $286,100 in rural secondary road funds.
The funds will be used for maintenance and repair of county roads, and added to the funding the county already receives for road maintenance from the state and local taxes.
The money will be used specifically on four county road paving projects. Watts said this round of funding is in addition to approximately $200,000 in rural secondary funds distributed to the county earlier this calendar year.
GARBAGE ROLL-OFF. The court approved the expansion of the county’s roll-off dumpster program.
After the solid waste committee’s meeting earlier in the day, the court accepted the committee’s recommendation to purchase 15 new roll-off dumpsters, buy an additional truck to deliver and retrieve them, and hire a new county employee to help service them.
The county owns approximately 125 roll-off dumpsters. The dumpsters cost about $4,000 each, depending on the size. The rental fees will pay for the cost of the additional dumpsters, John Greenwell, solid waste director, told the court.
HOLIDAY GARBAGE PICKUP. County garbage pickup will run on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019, but not on Christmas Day. The rest of the week’s garbage will be picked up on a one-day delayed basis, with Friday’s garbage picked up on Saturday.
The same schedule will apply the follow week, with no garbage pick up on New Year’s Day, and one day late the remaining days of that week.
In other business, the court:
— was reminded that the Feeding American food distribution program will take place Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, which is a week earlier than normal due to the Christmas holiday. For more information, contact Judge Executive Dean Watts’ office at (502) 348-1800.
NEXT UP. Nelson Fiscal Court will next meet on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2019, on the second floor of the Old Courthouse.
-30-
