MIDDLEBURG — A number of courthouse employees have chronically been showing up late for their shifts, and Snyder County Commissioner Richard “Bud” Bickhart made it clear on Tuesday that he doesn’t approve.
“Certain employees come to work whenever they want to come to work,” he said. “They don’t care.”
Without giving names or departments, he said he has seen employees arrive a half hour after their shift starts, and then walk to the front of the building, where they can enter without swiping an employee card that can keep track of when they get there.
One particular employee, he said, “is not late a lot, but late every day.”
Bickhart said he saw at least three employees show up late on Tuesday, but as for the number who have been chronically tardy, “I think it’s more than three,” he told the rest of the board.
“If employees are hired to work 30, 35, or 40 hours a week, I think they ought to work that long,” he said.
And it’s obvious, he said, that as soon as 4 p.m. rolls around, the courthouse is basically empty, so “they don’t make up that time at the end of the day.”
If necessary, he said, time clocks could placed on each of the courthouse’s three floors, and cameras could be installed to monitor when employees arrive.
Commissioners expressed concern that department heads may also not be aware of their employees not arriving at their scheduled times, and often leave it up to employees to keep track of their own compensatory time.
“If you tell your employee, ‘You take care of your comp time,’ I don’t think that’s a good scenario,” Bickhart said.
One employee had acquired 128 hours of compensatory time, he said. “For her particular job, I don’t know how she has any.”
“I think it’s utterly ridiculous that we have compensatory time here,” said Commissioner Joe Kantz. However, he said if an employee does have to work extra one day, it would be in the best interest of the county to take off another day within the same time period.
And such time should be pre-approved by the department heads, the board agreed.
Kantz also expressed a desire to reduce the number of sick days — 12 — employees currently receive each year.
“I would like to know where anyone can go in the private sector and get the number of sick days we get here,” he said.
News
Court workers late for shifts
Commissioners consider clocks, cameras to monitor arrival time
- News
-
-
Lewisburg schools face cuts in personnel, programs
Superintendent Mark DiRocco told the Lewisburg school board Thursday night that a proposed block grant system of school budget funding will run the district short of cash that will have to be made up through personnel and program cuts.
-
Mom: Keller's response left her cold
Like many people, Elise Nicol is concerned about Marcellus Shale and the industry's effects on Pennsylvania's environment. The Lewisburg mother of two cares about it enough that she sent an email to state Rep. Fred Keller, R-85 of Kreamer, asking him to oppose House Bill 1950, which passed the General Assembly on Wednesday.
-
Point Township authority concerned by sewer plant violations
Point Township Sewer Authority members Thursday night expressed concerns about a Feb. 3 letter sent to the Northumberland Sewer Authority by the state's Department of Environmental Protection saying that the borough authority has violated the Clean Streams Act.
-
Persing truck fee idea stalls
While Pennsylvania has passed legislation allowing communities to collect impact fees in 35 counties, Northumberland County is not one of them, and business leaders and lawmakers do not think Sunbury Mayor David Persing's plan to try to do his own version of an impact fee will pass muster.
-
Barber draws a crowd
The talk can be spirited at times, ranging from hunting to sports to home repairs. "You hear all kinds of stories," Gene Koehler, of Riverside, said Thursday as he waited for a haircut at The Masters barbershop, 209 Mill St.
-
State board approves table games at Valley Forge casino
VALLEY FORGE — A casino resort scheduled to open this spring in the Philadelphia suburb of Valley Forge has been approved for table games.
-
Doctors telling more adults: Get out and exercise
ATLANTA — A new study shows more and more U.S. adults are being told by their doctor to get off their duffs and exercise. A government survey found nearly 33 percent of adults who saw a doctor in the previous year said they were told to exercise. That was up from about 23 percent in 2000.
-
Former Northumberland County judge and three others die in Florida crash
EVERGLADES CITY, Fla. -- A former Northumberland County judge was one of four people killed Wednesday afternoon when their car collided with a van at an intersection, according to the Naples News. The victims were identified as James J. Rosini, 66, William J. Rosini, 68, Patricia C. Rosini, 65, all of Coal Township, Pa., and Deborah A. Korbich, 59, of Elysburg, Pa.
-
Warden demotes four bosses
SUNBURY -- Northumberland County Prison Warden Roy Johnson was able to trim about $135,000 in expenses by demoting four supervisors. He said Wednesday that he found a way to cut costs without laying off any staff. "I cut out 120 hours of supervisors' pay each week, but I need to fill the correction officer positions," Johnson said.
-
DJ pumps up audience
Every Tuesday evening, Richard Grogg can be found spinning tunes at possibly the most well-attended dance in Snyder County. A resident at the Selinsgrove Center since 1988, the 57-year-old said the thing he likes most about selecting and playing music is "making people happy." "Some people come up and ask for requests," he said.
-
Agency closes adult center
PENNS CREEK -- Union and Snyder County caregivers have had to look farther and wider for another program that can offer respite because the Agency on Aging can no longer afford to provide the service. The adult daily living center at the Penns Creek Adult Resource Center was a helpful program each week to about eight adults from the area dealing with Alzheimer's and dementia. But it closed Dec. 30.
-
New Berlin pushes to acquire school
NEW BERLIN -- The Borough Council sold the property where the New Berlin Elementary School is to the precursor of the Mifflinburg Area School District for $1 back in 1950. It was deeded to the district for construction of a school.
- More News Headlines
-
Lewisburg schools face cuts in personnel, programs
