FORT SCOTT — Bourbon County Commissioner Joe Allen used the debate over the county’s personal-use policy to tell the board that the bigger issue is keeping employees.
Allen said Nov. 2 that the county has “taken away for two years” and provided nothing in return, and that workers can find better-paying jobs nearby. “We need to start buying back into these employees because we’re going to start losing them,” he said. He said he hears the concern from public works and other departments.
He said incentives don’t have to mean using a county lift for personal work. His challenge to the board is, “What can we get back? What can we start? You know, we need to get the morale back with our employees.” He added, “We’ve done nothing but continue to take away.”
“I’m 100% behind you, Joe,” Chairman Gregg Motley answered. “We need to look for ways to support these employees in legal ways.” Allen voted against the policy, which passed 3-1.
Allen repeated the point in his closing comments, saying the county needs to invest in its employees.