Health Department Approves Recruitment Bonuses to Address Staffing Shortages

The Saline County Health Department has approved a plan to offer recruitment bonuses in an effort to address ongoing staffing shortages. The decision was made during the September 3rd County Commission meeting.

Jason Tiller, Health Department Director, presented a proposal to increase recruitment incentives. The plan involves offering a $10,000 bonus, split into two payments. New hires would receive half of the bonus after two months of employment, with the remaining half paid out at six months.

Tiller confirmed that the county auditor has approved rolling over funds for these bonuses into the next fiscal year, provided there is a written agreement with the employee specifying the payment terms. This arrangement allows the department to use saved salary dollars from the current year to fund the incentives.

The recruitment bonuses are specifically aimed at addressing staffing issues in the department's home health division. Tiller described the division as operating in "survival mode" due to current staffing levels.

Commissioner Vidricksen noted that while approving this measure, the commission should consider reviewing the county's overall salary system in the future. He stated, "I just think our salary system needs to be adjusted, looked at, whatever, and for us to continue to offer bonus recruitment bonuses is not a good option."

The commission unanimously approved the recruitment bonus proposal. The funds for these incentives will come from the existing budget line for unused salaries, resulting in no additional impact on the overall county budget.