Pulaski County will be able to move forward with hiring a maintenance director and head custodian. The county council approved the commissioners’ Maintenance Department restructuring proposal Monday. The Maintenance Department began the week without an official leader. The new candidates selected by the commissioners had been unable to start until the council set the pay rates, and in the meantime, the interim maintenance director resigned after work last Friday.
“Frank sent me an email Friday evening that he is no longer working and he has resigned effective immediately and he is nowhere to be found this morning,” Commissioner Maurice Loehmer explained during Monday morning’s regular meeting. “So we need to accept his resignation.”
But council members were concerned with the restructuring’s cost. It sets the hours for the maintenance director and head custodian at 40 hours per week, while also cutting part-time staff from four to two. Commissioner Chuck Mellon initially said it would save money on wages, but Council President Ken Boswell determined that it would actually cost more, once benefits were included.
During a special joint meeting Monday evening, Mellon argued that the restructuring would still pay for itself in the long run by increasing efficiency. “Savings may not show up in the salary and benefits,” he acknowledged, “but it will be evident in improving maintenance, increasing longevity of equipment, less outsourcing for repairs and installation, et cetera.”
In the end, the council agreed to set the hourly pay rates at $23.50 for the maintenance director and $16 for the head custodian. The candidates still had to decide whether to accept the offers. A proposal to add the positions into the salary matrix will be up for the council’s final approval on June 14.
