The labor shortages created by the pandemic hit especially hard in the Lehigh County Jail and the Cedarbrook nursing facilities. Both were losing employees and new hires were hard to get.

While Lehigh County government has struggled with this labor shortage, one solution was to increase the pay of workers in these departments, which includes the 911 Communications Center.

On May 11 Lehigh County Commissioners approved a first reading of the bill that will amend the county’s personnel policies and procedures manual to provide for compensation incentives in “essential 24-hour departments” in response to issues in the labor market.

When finally approved, the bill will grant the Lehigh County Commissioners authority to enact “temporary wage increase[s] from the county in response to critical labor shortages that place the department at risk of understaffing.”

Employees in essential 24-hour departments, including corrections (Lehigh County Jail), Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation and the 911 Communications Center, are the departments deemed critical and thus the need to respond to critical labor issues that place the departments at risk of being understaffed.

According to the bill, requests by the department heads of these “essential departments” must be sent through Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong for approval by the board of commissioners. The bill cites the Home Rule Charter as the ruling document on this procedure.

The new legislation allows the county to make increases of pay of people staffing critical jobs such as security guards at Cedarbrook. The contractor providing security services has previously appealed for a change in their contract so they could pay security guards more to keep a full staff.

“Until the [Home Rule] Charter changes, this is the best that we can do,” Lehigh County Board of Commissioners Chairman Geoff Brace said.

Commissioner Bob Elbich offered an amendment to the bill which was unanimously adopted by the board.

Commissioner Dan Hartzell brought his newspaper experience to offer editorial changes.

Lehigh County Director of Corrections Janine Donate reminded county commissioners her staffing levels are mandatory.