County commissioners OK jail nursing fund in 2-1 vote
From our weekly issue dated March 5, 2008
A proposal to provide $10,000 in a compensation fund for after-hours medical aid at the county jail was approved 2-1 during a meeting of the Josephine County Board of Commissioners.
The board OK’d the plan Wednesday, Feb. 27 during its morning meeting in Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass. The proposal was made by Belle Shepherd, director of the Josephine County Public Health Dept.
Shepherd explained that the money involves a transfer from existing funds. It is needed, she said, in connection with her negotiations with AFSCME Council 75, Local 3694.
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She added that the contract revision will result in cost savings. A full-time person, she said, would cost $30,000; but the $10,000 will cover the extra hours medical care provided at the jail by current medical personnel.
‘They’re on-call 24/7,” she told the board.
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Commissioner Jim Raffenburg said that the change is “not comprehensive, but piecemeal.” He said he feels that such a move should be incorporated when a full contract is negotiated.
“It’s not personal,” he told Shepherd, but a problem he sees with the county’s organizational structure.
Commissioner Dwight Ellis moved for approval; Chairman Dave Toler seconded; and the vote was 2-1 with Raffenburg opposed.
