Bradford County commissioners raise salaries of 911 dispatchers

BY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN (Staff Writer)
Published: February 3, 2012

Article Tools
Font size: [A] [A] [A]
Sign Up newsletter

TOWANDA - At their meeting on Thursday, the Bradford County commissioners raised camping fees at the county parks approximately 3 percent, and distributed $3,650 in grants to environmental education projects.

In addition, in response to the tight job market, the Bradford County Salary Board on Thursday continued to raise the pay grades of some of the more than 700 county employees, this time giving all of the 911 dispatchers a raise of approximately 6 percent, which includes the 2 percent cost-of-living increase that was approved for all county workers in late December, said county Human Resources Director Mark Agutter.

Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko said the pay increase approved Thursday is intended to address Bradford County's ongoing problem of retaining its 911 dispatchers.

"We need to be competitive" in the salaries provided to the dispatchers, "because the last thing we need is a shortage of dispatchers," he said.

The dispatchers take 911 calls and dispatch the appropriate emergency responders to fires, motor vehicle accidents and other incidents.

This the second year that the Bradford County commissioners have awarded grants through the county's Environmental Education Grant Program. The grants are provided for environmentally-related projects that are oriented toward education.

The program distributes two types of grants. One is a mini-grant of up to $500, which can be used, for example, to put on an education program or to hire a speaker for an event, said Dan Rhodes, the education coordinator for the Bradford County Conservation District.

The Environmental Education Grant Program also awards grants of up to $5,000 apiece for infrastructure improvements, such as the creation of trails or the purchase of signage, he said.

This year, the county had approximately $16,000 available to distribute in the form of grants through the program, but no one applied for the infrastructure grants, he said.

However, the county did have eight or nine applicants for the "mini-grants," he said.

On Thursday, the commissioners approved the following "mini-grants" through the Environmental Education Grant Program:

- $500 for the 12th Annual Women in the Wilds program

- $500 for the Third Annual Apple Butter Day

- $500 for the 18th Annual Bradford County Youth Field Day

- $500 for the Second Annual Sugar on Snow Day

- $500 for Growing Your own Future: Green Career Day

- $500 for an Exploring Moths & Butterflies Program

- $150 for Trout in the Classroom - Transportation

- $500 for Trout in the Classroom - Equipment

Because roughly $12,000 in available grant funds remains to be distributed this year, applications will continue to be accepted year-round this year for mini-grants, and applications are also being accepted for infrastructure grants, which will be awarded again in June, Rhodes said.

Fees charged for the disposal of drill-cutting waste at the Northern Tier Solid Waste Authority's landfill in West Burlington Township pay for the grants distributed by the Environmental Education Grant Program.

The commissioners on Thursday also approved an agreement with Potter County, which will allow female inmates from that county to be housed at the Bradford County Correctional Facility, should there be space available for them, McLinko said.

The revenue that the county would receive for housing the female inmates would help offset the cost of housing excess male inmates from Bradford County at the Tioga County Prison, McLinko said.

Due to overcrowding problems in the male units at the Bradford County jail, five or six male inmates from Bradford County are currently being housed at the Tioga County jail, McLinko said.

The camping fees were raised approximately 3 percent across the board to cover increased costs related to the camping program, said Kim Corbett, maintenance director for the county.

James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or email: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.

Ads by Yahoo!
We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.
comments powered by Disqus