Robbinsville – As the Graham County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s budget last week, some citizens are voicing concerns about the need for a pay raise for some of its most crucial workers.
During the public hearing – held prior to the budget being unanimously approved – some concerned citizens asked the board about the possibility of increasing pay for the county’s emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
In response to the concerns – some of which stemmed from a social media post comparing Graham County’s EMS schedule and salaries to those in neighboring counties – Finance Officer Becky Garland explained the differences.
“Our EMS operates on a different shift as the other counties,” Garland said. “The other counties are on a 24-hour on, 72-hour off, and we’re on a 48-hour on, 96-hour off,” Garland said.
She said she had been in contact with the EMS staff regarding some of the issues they were facing, including a lack of interest in the field locally.
“There were several medics who had worked for Graham County in the past who had gone to the Cherokee,’ Garland said.
She said the county would have to hire at least four more paramedics to implement a 24/72 schedule, as well as a $500,000 increase to the county’s EMS budget.
Garland added some of the medics were in favor of looking at a new schedule, while some were not.
“There was a little bit of a split there,” Garland said. “Some of the medics have side businesses and they didn’t want to change their schedule.”
County Manager Jason Marino also spoke to some of the measures the county is looking at to help recruit more EMS professionals and encourage Graham County students to consider careers in EMS. He added that the county had looked at cutting some of its internal spending to put more dollars toward EMS and other county employees, as it worked on preparing its budget.
“I saw a lot of the commissioners very, very concerned – as well as everybody here – about getting our county employees – including public safety – some more money,” Marino said.
Garland also urged citizens to spend more money in Graham County, to bring sales tax revenue up.
“I want to encourage everyone to by locally as much as possible,” Garland said. “I try to buy as much as I can in Graham County, because I know it can only help the budget.”