“This isn’t a Bladen County problem,” said David Howell, director of the county’s Emergency Medical Services. “This is a statewide problem ... nationwide, really.”
According to both Howell and County Manager Greg Martin, the county has been running an advertisement for medics to man county ambulances, but it’s not getting responses. Howell stated he is currently short five full-time paramedics.
“A lot of it is probably because of the pay,” Howell said. “Whatever it is, the pandemic changed a lot of things for everybody.”
Commissioner Charles Ray Peterson questioned where Bladen County stood in regards to pay, stating, “I thought we were in line with those around us.”
Howell said the county isn’t in line with pay compared with nearby counties — then threw out an idea.
“I don’t know if we need to consider some kind of sign-on bonus to attract new employees,” he said. “It’s something a lot of other locations are doing.”
That idea brought a few nods from the board, but also brought some concerns.
“If I’m an employee whose been faithful and loyal for 5 years or 10 years, whatever, and I see a new employee get a bonus for coming to work here, what will I think?” asked Commissioner Cameron McGill. “Moral is an important thing.”
That kind of thinking spread quickly on the board.
“You can’t destroy an entire workforce by giving new employees a bonus and everyone else gets nothing,” Peterson said. “There needs to be a better way.”
He went on to suggest the board take a closer look at how a specific bonus amount might be spread over the hourly pay throughout the employees’ employment contract.
The board then asked Martin to gather hourly pay and salary statistics for all county departments and present them at a future meeting.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-862-4163 or cvincent@bladenjournal.com.
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