CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Cambria County Children and Youth case workers -- along with other county employees -- will not be getting bonuses to help combat staffing shortages.

The decision was made Thursday morning after the idea proposed by one of the commissioners was shot down by the other two.

CYS officials tell 6 News that over half of their case worker positions remain vacant.

I believe we are at a point with our case workers where we are down to 13 out of 36 positions. In order to be able to have adequate service provided to the county, we need to do something," said Cambria County Commissioner Scott Hunt.

Hunt went against his fellow commissioners once again, as he proposed a one-time bonus for all county employees.

His motion was shot down by both commissioners Thomas Chernisky and William "B.J." Smith.

This follows Hunt's previous stand-alone support favoring the case workers' requests during previous meetings.

Hunt says his proposal would use American Rescue Funds, not taxpayer dollars.

He proposed a $7,000 bonus -- paid in three installments -- for CYS caseworkers to help with "retention and recruitment."

In terms Hunt provides, 80% of that funding would come from Office of Children and Youth Families State funding, and 20% would be from the American Rescue Funds.

Hunt also proposed a one-time bonus of $1,000 for full-time county employees and $500 for part-time and per diem employees.

"This would not be opening the contract. This would be a one-time bonus that would help with recruiting and retention," he told 6 News.

Local union representatives sent 6 News a statement regarding the proposed bonus, saying in part:

While these bonuses would have been a step toward recognizing the valuable work of CYS employees, they would not go far enough to attract new caseworkers. A one-time bonus to current employees would have aided our retention efforts, but it does not change the fact that CYS caseworkers are paid poverty wages. We have a staffing crisis at CYS, and we need a long-term solution," said Samantha Shewmaker.

"We are losing employees county wide because of the job market. This would be an opportunity to show our commitment to our employees that says: it might only be this amount, but we appreciate what you do, and we want you to stay with us," said commissioner Hunt.

Cambria County CYS Supervisor Lynn Popovich says their staffing shortage will ultimately impact the children throughout the county.

"Childrens’ safety will be compromised. You are the only ones that can change this as our administration and staff have done everything they can to meet the needs of families and children. The responsibility to change this lies solely in your hands," Popovich previously wrote to 6 News.

In a joint statement from commissioners Chernisky and Smith, they told 6 News:

We disagree with Commissioner Hunt's plan to allocate American Rescue Plan funds for bonuses or premium pay. We have to remember that rescue plan funds are tax dollars. It would be difficult to give county employees who received a paycheck throughout the pandemic premium pay while other businesses and employees in Cambria County were left without. The price tag of giving one-time bonuses would cost over $750,000 when you add pension costs, FICA and social security. A half million tax cut to all taxpayers would cost less than the bonuses to county employees. We prefer to pass that savings to the taxpayers of Cambria County. American Rescue Plan dollars are being used to improve Cambria County assets and infrastructure. We will continue to work together to have a positive return on that investment and our goal is that these funds will be used properly to create a legacy that will benefit all residents, and future generations in Cambria County. We appreciate all the work that county employees perform each and every day. Staffing shortages are a nation-wide problem in many industries. Bonuses are not a guarantee to prevent labor shortages. When these proposed bonuses are paid and if an employee leaves the county there is no way that taxpayers can recuperate those funds," wrote commissioners Chernisky and Smith.

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