Creativity keeps county departments ticking
Officials at the county government center are using innovation and understanding during the coronavirus pandemic while managing the 648 people employed by the county.
Lori Altman, the county's human resources director, said flexibility is key in dealing with employees whose lives have been affected by the various situations that can crop up as a result of the pandemic.
“A little creativity can go a long way,” Altman said of employees finding a balance between their professional and personal lives.
Because no one has experience managing employee issues during a pandemic, Altman said she has had to come up with ways to help employees as they deal with issues such as child care and elderly relatives moving into employees' homes because their care facility closed.
Other employees were in quarantine or off work because they had contracted the virus.
“We were all thrown into the fire,” Altman said of managing a human resources department during the pandemic.
She said flexibility with employees must be mixed with attention to the fact that all county employees' paychecks are funded through taxpayer dollars.
“All the things we do, we do for the taxpayers,” Altman said.One measure taken to help employees during the pandemic was dropping the requirement to provide a written excuse to leave work to care for children.“When you work with the employees, the outcome is a win-win for them and for county residents,” Altman said. “We just ask that they keep us informed, and we did the same on our end. Good communication is what matters.”She said employees have done all they could to keep one another safe since March 2020.“We have wonderful county employees,” Altman said. “The courthouse never closed during the pandemic. We were very fortunate.”As the pandemic ground on, the county's long-term practice of cross-training workers “turned out to be huge.”She said once the vaccine became available, workers who showed their vaccination cards received 80 free hours of sick time.Altman has had to continue hiring as positions become available.“In a pinch, we run more advertisements on our website or indeed.com,” Altman said.On rare occasions, the county has turned to temporary-employee agencies, as it did with the hectic 2020 elections.
Mike Slupe, county sheriff, manages the many sheriff's deputies and office staff employed in his office.“I've been blessed that we have not had turnover during COVID,” Slupe said.But he continues to deal with the problem of hiring qualified deputies given the low starting pay when many companies that traditionally offer a lower starting wage are now offering higher wages to supplement their workforces during the pandemic.“This year we had two positions open,” Slupe said. “It's been very difficult to get good applicants for the salary.”He said the positions were finally filled by a pair of men who were in the armed services and worked as police officers. Each has 25 years of experience in police work.“I got their wage increased through the (county) salary board,” Slupe said.
He said candidates who have police experience are sent to a two-week course to learn civil law, prisoner transport and courtroom security.After the course, they are certified as sheriff's deputies.Those without police training are sent to police academy in State College, Centre County, for 760 hours of sheriff's deputy training.The sheriff's office had been reimbursed by the state Commissioner on Crime and Delinquency for the expense of sending a new employee to the academy, but those reimbursements stopped a few years ago.Slupe said that is frustrating because the PCCD funds come from civil process work in each of the state's 67 counties.However, Slupe expects the reimbursements to be reinstated this year.The county's sheriff's deputies have performed tasks above and beyond their normal duties during the pandemic, Slupe said.At first, the deputies set up a tent and used a handheld touchless thermometer to scan the foreheads of each employee entering the building to check their temperature.“Even me,” Slupe said. “When I came in, I got my temperature scanned.”Deputies also scanned the foreheads of those entering the county government center to conduct county business, and asked the three health questions that have become familiar to everyone during the pandemic.Later, the county purchased and hung infrared temperature scanners that detect a fever in individuals entering the building, then alert the deputies to deny them entry.The deputies also posted signs in the county government center's vestibule asking those with a fever, cough or flu symptoms not to enter the building.In addition, the deputies drove ballots to individuals who did not receive their mail-in ballot.“This was an election like no other, and I hope we never see it again because it was pandemonium,” Slupe said.He said crews of deputies left the government center each day to deliver ballots to disenfranchised voters, most of whom were in nursing homes.“We didn't know and we didn't care which party affiliation they were,” Slupe said. “We just wanted them to have the opportunity to vote.”He said the deputies and sheriff's office staff truly performed above and beyond their job descriptions during the pandemic.“I have to praise and honor all of my staff, from clerical to the deputies, for doing what needed to be done during these uncharted and most difficult times we've ever had to endure,” Slupe said.
While District Attorney Richard Goldinger hasn't had employment problems in his office because of his small, dedicated staff, he has experienced issues caused by the pandemic.“The biggest challenge has been dealing with our cases,” Goldinger said.He said while cases continued to be filed by police during the pandemic, the courts shut down operations for a period of time.“We are struggling to keep the cases moving without a backlog,” Goldinger said.He said no juries were called for almost a year after the pandemic hit, so no trials could be held.Many cases were solved through plea agreements during that time, Goldinger said.“So, there were probably some pretty good deals worked out,” he said.Other cases were postponed for up to 18 months.
Because judges in county court insist cases are worked out within 180 days to uphold requirements for a speedy trial, judges were releasing defendants from jail with nominal bond after six months of incarceration.Some defendants did not show up when their cases were scheduled and have active bench warrants out for their arrests, Goldinger said.He said about 200 cases have been affected by the pandemic-related holdups.The judges are bringing juries back now, but many jurists still are hesitant to be with a number of people.Goldinger said adjustments, such as bringing in smaller groups of prospective jurors, have been made.Goldinger saw a dropoff in charges of driving under the influence during the shutdown necessitated by the pandemic.“People were in their houses,” he said.
