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BELLEFONTE -- Some Centre County employees will see more money in their paychecks very soon.
During Thursday's salary board meeting, the board approved a $5 per hour pay hike for Centre County workers at both the Emergency Communications Center and the Centre County Correctional Facility.
The possibility was discussed during Tuesday's commissioners' meeting before approval on Thursday.
"If we don't take action now, when football comes back in September, we're not going to be prepared," said chair of the board of commissioners, Michael Pipe. "So we need to take action now to prepare for the future. Time is running out."
The commissioners said on Tuesday that the situation was dire. Citing low level staffing numbers at the county prison and the county 911 center, county administrators approved the pay hike with hopes that the new incentive will retain current employees while and get new hires on board quickly.
Needless to say, both the Emergency Communications Center and the Centre County Correctional Facility need staffing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
"At least regionally, the workforce just is not there. I think you're seeing it in the hospitality (industry) and you're seeing it in a lot of sectors of the economy," said commissioner Steve Dershem. "We do not have the luxury of being able to shut down."
At the present time, both public safety telecommunicator and corrections officer jobs are listed on the Centre County Government website. The public safety telecommunications position lists its current pay rate at $15.66 per hour, while the corrections officer position lists its current pay rate at $15 per hour. A $5 bump would push the public safety telecommunications position to $20.66 per hour, while the corrections officer position would jump to $20 per hour.
The county commissioners Thursday also decided to give county employees -- not at the prison or 911 center -- who have been working for the county since at least January of 2020 a $750 bonus.
There's also a review underway of the Centre County employee salary scale.
For this round of pay hikes and bonuses, the county will use funds from the American Rescue Plan.
The raise or bonus will not apply to any elected government officials, including the commissioners.
The Centre County commissioners will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 20. They are meeting in-person now at 146 Willowbank Building. The Tuesday meetings are also televised live by C-NET.