The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors approved several pay adjustments for county employees at their recent meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17, the majority of which are employed at the county hospital.
    The senior lead billing position at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County will get an increase of $1 per hour to be effective Jan. 1, 2014. The current wage was $14.90 per hour for 40 hours a week, so the increase will bring the wage up to $15.90/hour. This will result in an increase of $2,080 annually, not including overtime hours.
    The reasoning for this wage increase, as stated in the resolution, is to make the position’s wage more consistent with other healthcare billing positions in the county such as at the health department ($15.29/hour) and at the manor ($15.06/hour).
    The three billing staff positions at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County will receive a 50-cent per hour supplemental wage increase to be effective Jan. 1, 2014. The current wages for these three positions were $13.24/hour for 40 hours a week, $13.08/hour for 32 hours a week and $12.58/hour for 40 hours a week. The increases will bring the wages up to $13.74, $13.58 and $13.08 per hour respectively. This will result in an annual increase of $2,912, not including overtime hours.
     The reasoning for these wage increases was to make the wages more consistent with other healthcare billing positions in the county such as the health department ($15.29/hour) and the manor ($15.06/hour).
    The dietary manager position at the Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County will receive a 50-cent per hour increase to be effective Jan. 1, 2014. The current wage for this position was $16.72 per hour for 40 hours a week, so the increase will bring this wage up to $17.22/hour. This will result in an annual increase of $1,040, not including overtime hours.
    The argument for this increase was to make the position’s wage more consistent with that of the other dietary manager position in the county-the one at the manor, which has a wage of $18.57 per hour.
    The purchasing manager position at the Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County will receive an increase of $1.70 per hour to be effective on the first of the year. The current wage is $12.90 per hour for 40 hours a week, so the increase will bring it up to $14.60. This will result in an increase of $3,536 annually, not including overtime hours.
    The reasoning for this wage increase was to make the position’s wage more consistent with the manor’s purchasing manager position, which has a wage of $15.06/hour.
    The surgical technician position at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County will see a wage increase of $2 per hour, to be effective on Jan. 1, 2014. The current wage for this position is $14.18 per hour for 32 hours a week, so the increase will bring the wage up to $16.18/hour. This raise will result in an annual increase of $4,160, not including overtime hours.
    Reasoning for this wage increase was to enable the hospital to keep their trained technicians and not have to resort to supplementing with registered nurses, who would be paid $24.46 per hour.
    The maintenance helper position at the Lafayette Manor will be receiving a wage increase of 30 cents per hour, which will become effective Jan. 1, 2014. The current wage for this position is $14.70 per hour for 40 hours a week, so the increase will bring it up to $15/hour. This adjustment will result in an annual increase of $624 not, including overtime hours.
    The reasoning for this pay adjustment was to make the position’s wages more consistent with the other maintenance helper position in the county, who works at the courthouse and is paid $15.90 per hour.
    The board supervisors voted to approve these resolutions with supervisor David Hammer voting against all of them and supervisor Ted Wiegel voting against the increase for the purchasing manager position.
    The board also approved a 2% increase for the salaries/wages of the department heads and administrative/non-union personnel to be effective Jan. 1, 2014.
    Within this resolution it was also noted that eligible RNs and LPNs employed at the hospital receiving certain eligible certifications will be compensated at the rate of 25 cents per hour per certificate, limited to an additional $1.50 per hour; and that manor LPNs that have a blood draw certificate will receive an additional 50 cents per hour.
    The total wage increase approved within this resolution will result in an increase of $195,000 for the 2014 year, not including overtime hours.
    A 1% salary/wage increase was also approved for all county employees who were formerly members of the Lafayette County Professional Employees, Local 678, Council 40 (Professional Union), to be effective Jan. 1, 2014.
    Supervisor Ron Niemann explained that this increase will keep all employees “on par with each other,” as these employees did not receive the 1% increase when everyone else did because the union they were formerly a part of is no longer in existence.