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Johnson County mulls plan to boost emergency worker pay

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A pay increase is being considered for employees of Johnson County Med-Act, which provides ambulances and a range of other emergency services.

The proposal to bump pay comes amid concerns that the county is falling behind the salary market and will have trouble attracting good candidates to fill vacancies.

New pay plan projected to cost $2.6M

In a second session examining a recent salary study, county commissioners earlier this month heard a staff request, this time to implement a step pay plan for Med-Act in 2024 at an estimated cost of $2.6 million, including overtime and benefits.

Also requested was a 2% adjustment to the current emergency service pay table this July that would cost $170,000 between now and year’s end.

That money would come from savings on unfilled vacancies and reserves. The $2.6 million for the step pay plan would have to be worked into the annual budget.

Johnson County worker pay lags behind others

About a month ago, the commission took under advisement a proposal for a 6.1% increase for other county employees that would cost an estimated $18.3 million a year.

Both proposals were based on data from Salary.com that showed Johnson County is not keeping up with neighboring jurisdictions on employee pay.

In a comparison with Lawrence/Douglas County Fire and Medical, Kansas City, Kan. Fire and Medical and Leavenworth County Emergency Services, Johnson County came in behind Lawrence and Kansas City, Kan., but competitive with Leavenworth when comparing Emergency Medical Technicians, or EMTs, with comparable years on the job.

For paramedics, Johnson County had the lowest actual pay for employees of comparable years.

The county also was in the low range  for EMTs, according to tables compiled from the survey data.

The minimum was recently increased by about $10,000 from $39,900 to $49,920. The maximum is now $59,850.

By comparison, the minimums at Leavenworth and KCK were around $44,000. Lawrence paid the highest, with a minimum of $58,826 and maximum of $89,566.

Calls for services are up

“The pandemic has created an environment that has been unrelenting,” said Paul Davis, director of the county emergency services.

While there was a decrease in calls for service in 2020, they have increased by 8% a year in the two following years , he said.

“Our crews are working harder, they’re fatigued, they don’t get the down time they used to,” he said. “It used to be we had a waiting list of months for people to come work at Med-Act. That’s not the way it is anymore.”

Scott Sare, deputy chief of Med-Act, told the commission the department was fully staffed in January for the first time in three years – but that only lasted three days before another departure.

Current pay structure may be turning off applicants

Another difficulty in hiring is the fact that Med-Act has been on a merit-based pay system, said County Human Resources Manager DeeAnn Assmann.

Applicants have said they like the certainty of a step pay table so they can see how much they might expect to make in the future, compared with other employers.

The staff recommendation was to put Med-Act on step-pay next year, with 2.5% to 3% between steps.

Commission has yet to take any action

Some commissioners did express support for the new pay step idea.

Commissioner Janeé Hanzlick recalled the 14% pay bump sheriff’s deputies won last year, which, she noted, she supported.

“I want to make sure our first responders are paid fairly and equitably,” she said. “I’m concerned we’ve stepped up pay for the sheriff’s department but we can’t neglect the other folks.”

Chairman Mike Kelly said Sheriff Calvin Hayden was an effective advocate in asking for a pay increase that would put deputies ahead of most other jurisdictions.

“So if Med-Act needs a champion, I’ll be that,” he said. “We have budgetary concerns without a doubt, but this is not a position where we in Johnson County are average. We are not an average county.”

He also noted emergency services came in at the top of a recent county survey of citizen satisfaction.

Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at roxieham@gmail.com.

About the author

Roxie Hammill
Roxie Hammill

Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at roxieham@gmail.com.

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