Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
The Eddy County Commission met in a special meeting on Wednesday, May 30 to discuss an offer letter that was sent to Eddy County’s Emergency Manager candidate, Jess Earle, who is also the Emergency Manager for Foster County.
In essence, the letter stated that Earle would be an hourly employee of Eddy County working about eight hours per week. Earle did have a request that Eddy County pay Foster County for half of her current cell phone bill so that she would not have to carry another phone with her. The commissioners agreed that her request was reasonable.
Foster County Commissioner Becky Hagel was also present at the meeting, and said that she had several concerns with the agreement between Earle and Eddy County. When Earle informed Foster County officials that she would like to apply for the Eddy County Emergency Manager position, Hagel said she thought Earle had been instructed to include on her application that it was contingent upon a Joint Powers Agreement between Foster County and Eddy County.
A Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) is a formal, legal agreement between two or more public agencies that share a common power and want to jointly implement programs, build facilities or deliver services.
Hagel said that when Earle’s application for the Eddy County Emergency Manager position was presented to the Foster County Commission, the commissioners were under the assumption that the counties would pursue the JPA, and she felt that it was Foster County’s intent through the JPA to get a cost-sharing benefit. Foster County’s auditor had conferred with the Association of Counties, who recommended that a JPA would be beneficial for everyone. However, even if the two entities proceeded with a JPA and raised Earle’s pay to cover the extra hours contracted out to Eddy County, cost savings would likely only come from reduced training and meeting costs, that Eddy County would now share.
Hagel said there was also a concern that there would be a possibility of burn-out with the added work, and inquired when Earle planned on doing the work for Eddy County and wanted to know if it would affect her work-life balance. Hagel noted that Foster County has a moonlighting policy which states that any outside position cannot interfere with an employee’s regular working hours.
Earle commented that her plan had been to work on Eddy County business for an hour or two after she got home from work on weekdays and maybe an hour or two on the weekends. Since she currently only works 35 hours for Foster County as their Emergency Manager/911 Coordinator, she felt that she would have enough time to work the additional eight hours for Eddy County without a problem. Earle said that she would prefer to work for the two counties separately without a JPA, but said she understands Foster County’s position.
Earle pointed out that she had spoken with another county Emergency Manager who currently does work for a smaller county in her off-time. If something comes up in the smaller county where she is needed, she takes a vacation day from her regular job to work for the smaller county. There is a JPA in place, however.
Another concern for Foster County, according to Hagel, is what would happen if an emergency would hit both counties at the same time. For example, if a tornado would hit both counties, the agreement would help identify where she should report first. However, a priority system would need to be worked out even if there was a JPA in place.
Hagel requested that a representative from the Eddy County Commission attend the next Foster County Commission meeting on Tuesday, June 5 so that some of these issues can be worked through and a resolution reached. One possible option was for Earle to accept employment in Eddy County for a six-month trial period with her doing work for Eddy County outside of her normal work day for Foster County. Hagel said that would require her to be meticulous with her record keeping and time tracking, as they all realize that there will be times when she will receive phone calls from Eddy County residents while she is working for Foster County or vice versa.
Eddy County commissioner Glenda Collier was designated to attend the Foster County Commission meeting. The New Rockford Transcript will continue to follow this issue.
