Workers needed
County feels crunch from area labor shortage
NEWS EDITOR
Workforce shortage woes are being felt across county departments.
Taylor County Buildings and Grounds Director Joe Svedja reported to members of the buildings and grounds committee last week that he has been unable to fill the current vacancy in a custodian position.
He explained they advertised for the position and had five applicants. He said of those, two of them showed up for interviews. One of the applicants was offered the position and agreed to it, but on the day he was supposed to start did not show up. Svedja said they were not comfortable with the other person interviewed.
“I don’t think we are anything unique,” Svedja said, noting the sheriff’s department is down five employees. With the vacancy, Svedja said they have had to adjust how things are being done. He praised the custodians and other members of his staff for being willing to step up and cover what is needed, but also noted that routine cleaning is sometimes being delayed or reduced in frequency. Money is a major issue for job seekers, as local factory positions offer higher wages than the county’s custodian starting wage. He said other factors may be the schedule for the position from 2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. each day. He said some individuals have expressed interest in it as part-time position.
Svedja said one of the challenges with the county’s pay scale is that it advances slowly. “You don’t climb fast,” he said, noting when people hit the control point they may go two to three years without an increase. While the county’s benefits are good, he said. “Not a lot of people care about benefits right now,” he said.
One suggestion for board members was to look to a larger area for advertising on the chance that someone was looking to move to Taylor County. In the end, committee members decided to wait until the county board set the new wage scale for county employees before trying to advertise for the position again.
Entrance hours
The public entrance to the Taylor County Courthouse will be open sometimes between 7:30 and 8 a.m. Committee members gave that direction to Svedja after having conflicting requests from separate county departments about allowing access before the building’s formal business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Svedja said he had been asked by human resources director Marie Koerner to have the doors open around 7:45 a.m. because she often has interviews scheduled for right away in the morning.
“We can have them open at any time,” Svedja said, he just wanted direction from the committee as to when he should have staff members open the doors. He also expressed concern about the public being in the building at a time when not all the offices are staffed.
Farrand noted that her predecessor in the county clerk’s office would often come to work at around 7 a.m. She said she did not continue that practice, but that the staff in the clerk’s office which is close to the main entrance have generally kept an eye on it.
Svedja said they have opened the main entrance as early as 6:30 a.m. However, he told of one time they found a man wandering around the building looking for the jail access.
The sheriff’s department has a 24-hour entrance to the building that goes through the dispatch center. The dispatch and jail entrance is located to the south of the main entrance and has its own sign.
“Other than going up and down hallways and using a restroom there is nothing people can do,” Farrand said, noting all the office doors are supposed to be locked overnight.
Svedja said he was concerned that not all office doors are being locked and that people could get into them.
As part of courthouse security measures, the main entrance on the west side of the building is designated for public access. Other courthouse doors are kept locked with employees having access with their own keys.
Committee members directed Svedja that the doors just needed to be opened by 8 a.m.
In other business, committee members:
_ Approved switching to Facility Gateway Corporation (FGC) of Madison for a service contract on the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system at the courthouse which provides backup power along with generators to be able to run critical functions including the 9-1-1 system in the case of power failure.
Svedja brought the service contract to the committee with options to stay with the current provider at nearly twice the cost, change level of coverage or go with a new vendor.
“We haven’t had any issues with this thing yet,” Svedja said noting they could go with a cheaper laboronly coverage plan but that they would be on the hook for parts and materials if something went bad. Svedja said maintaining the system is beyond what any of his staff are able to do at this time. “We would find out the hard way that things weren’t working,” he said.
Committee members approved going to FGC with a one-year contract at $2,225.
_ Directed the supervisor of the Perkinstown Wintersports Area to use a limited number of other vendors to keep food and candy stocked at the facility. In recent years, the county has worked to consolidate the number of places food is being purchased from and had an agreement to purchase through the Gilman grocery store. Joanne Schneveis, who manages the facility, told committee members she has been having difficulty getting items from that grocery store and has been needing to get items to be stocked for when groups come out. “I just want to see people enjoy it out there,” she said. She said it is important to have the items people want to buy when groups come out.
_ Received an update on an 18 Wheels Motorcycle Association event being planned for June at the Taylor County Fairgrounds. The event will include displays of motorcycles and semis with the group working with local nonprofits.
