GREENFIELD — All Hancock County government employees can expect a pay raise in 2022, but John Jokantas, director of the county’s 911 center, is asking county officials to consider giving his department a little extra.
“I’m trying to get a break for my people,” Jokantas said.
At a meeting last week of the Hancock County Board of Commissioners, Jokantas asked for permission to raise his total salary expenses by about 8.3%, as opposed to the 7% the county government has proposed offering to all county employees. Depending on how long they had been with the department, employees would receive raises of 5% to 10%.
The one exception is for sheriff’s deputies, who will be getting a bigger raise. Jokantas previously asked officials to consider classifying 911 center employees — who answer 911 calls, dispatch first-responders and handle critical communications — as public safety officers, like deputies, but county leaders were unwilling to do so.
Jokantas wants to institute a five-tier pay scale for his employees that would reward them for remaining with the county with a raise for each of their first five years. The cost would be an additional $12,000 per year, he said, over what the county already intended to give them as a raise.
“This benefits the long-term employees, people who have been here for five years, more than it does the shorter-term employees,” Jokantas said. “They will see less of an increase. The current people who have been here for more than five years, as well as supervisory staff, will see a higher increase.”
Jokantas said his goal is to increase employee retention. He said it would also put Hancock County’s pay on par with the comparable Johnson and Bartholemew counties.
The discussion over pay raises for county employees was initiated by Sheriff Brad Burkhart, who said he needed to be able to offer deputies a higher pay rate in order to stop them from leaving for higher-paying jobs in other communities. The county government formed two committees, one to study the issue for deputies and one for all other county employees.
The commissioners have asked the county council to give sheriff’s deputies a 24% raise in 2022, and all other employees a 7% raise. County council members have proposed an 18% raise for deputies and 7% for other employees.
Commissioner Marc Huber expressed reservations that Jokantas’ proposal could lead to a domino effect that would result in more requests for extra money. While the request that Jokantas is making is not a huge amount of money, he said, it could be the first of many.
“I’m not necessarily opposed to it, I’m just going to say it because that’s what’s going to happen — every department’s going to do the same,” he said. “…It’s just going to set a precedent.”
Huber added that he could see the merit of Jokantas’ proposal, because 911 center employees directly impact public safety. But he said other departments, like the highway department, could also argue their work helps keep people safe.
Jokantas said the state government considers 911 center employees to be public safety officers.
“I’m not going to go into the fact that we work 24 hours, or that we had to come into work every day during COVID,” he said.
Commissioner Bill Spalding agreed that he did not want to see other department heads come to the council requesting additional money. Commissioner John Jessup said the increase for 911 operators might be a needed step if it would improve retention, but added that the decision was ultimately up to the county council.
Despite their reservations, the commissioners voted to recommend to the county council that the 911 center receive the higher amount in the 2022 budget. The matter will likely be discussed at the county budget committee meeting on Wednesday, July 7.
County council member Bill Bolander said the council has agreed that all departments, other than the sheriff’s department, should receive 7% raises and that he believes they should stick to that. He added, though, that he understands Jokantas’ point of view.
“I appreciate him advocating for his people,” Bolander said.