Authorities approve new pay structure for highway workers | New

Woodward County Commissioners on Monday approved a new pay structure for highway district employees.

According to District 2 Commissioner Clint White, county road workers are not part of the annual budget and are not paid ad valorem or sales tax.

“Road districts are funded by gross production tax, vehicle tag tax and fuel tax, not property tax. We do not collect any ad valorem tax from the county, ”District 1 Commissioner Troy White said. “The money we receive from the government on a monthly basis sometimes varies considerably from month to month. It is therefore our responsibility to live within our means.

Troy White said there was no incentive for the employee to make the county a career or be a good employee.

“It’s almost communist,” said Troy White. “Everyone works at the same rate for the benefit of government, regardless of their function, whether it’s a new hire or a 25-year-old who you can count on to do and manage everything. It doesn’t make sense to me.

In an effort to be competitive with counties in the region, the council has established a standardized structure in which all three districts will be on the same pay scale.

“We have good hands left, even for an extra dollar (per hour),” Acting District 3 Commissioner Donny Thorn said. “I’ve been there for six years and we haven’t had a pay raise during that time.

The proposed new compensation structure is a merit-based system that takes into account years of service and is dependent on a performance appraisal.

The base rate for a highway employee with a CDL will be $ 19 per hour. At the end of the first year of employment and subject to performance appraisal, they will receive a raise of $ 19.25. After three years, it goes up to $ 19.50, then to $ 20 after five years and to $ 20.50 after eight years. Truck workers without a CDL will receive $ 0.85 less, consecutively.

One of the limiting factors in county employee compensation is an Oklahoma law that states that no employee can earn more than elected officials.

The council approved a memorandum of understanding with the High Plains Resource Conservation and Development Council. Council representative Tom Lucas said due to the closure of the William S. Key Correctional Center in Fort Supply, counties in the area should be eligible for economic adjustment assistance from the Economic Development Administration.

A transfer of funds of $ 50,000 from District 2 of the CIRB to the maintenance and operation of District 2 has been approved. According to Clint White, this is an ETR payment. The remaining $ 50,000 will be paid in June 2022.

The board of directors approved the reappointment of Rhonda Custer to the board of directors of EMS.

The commissioners filed a Certificate of Substantial Completion from Joe D. Hall for the fairground roof project due to the lack of an architect’s signature.

According to Woodward County Event Center & Fairgrounds General Manager Bailey Rae Poer, the roofing project was completed for more than $ 17,000 less than the maximum allotted estimate, totaling just over $ 343,000.