Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Water Employees Given Raise

New commissioners and employee raises were subjects at the April meeting of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission.

Retro-active to January 1 water department employees were voted a $1 per hour raise. Comparative salaries at industries in the county have been much higher than the water department for some time.

"It's been some time since we have given cost of living raises," Harold Hurst, water department manager, said.

A raise in pay has been discussed during the past few meetings. Commissioners believe hirher pay reduces a high turnover rate. The Gurdon Water and Sewer Department has a hard time competing with profit companies, which can often offer higher pay rates.

Commissioners Jim Vance and Glenn Hughes, who were just recently appointed, listened earnestly as Don Morehead explained the financial materials each commissioner receives. They were recommended for the seats at the last meeting. Their names were then sent to the city's personnel committee for approval and the remaining commissioners voted to accept them.

Long time commissioner Bill Dulin resigned his chairman position to Don Morehead at the beginning of the meeting. After that business was out of the way Dulin resigned his position.

Commenting on his lengthy service to the commission, Dulin joked, "After working with Harold for 24 years I guess he's ready to be on his own." Hurst expressed his regrets in seeing Dulin leave after his long and valuable service to the commission.

Along with the other commissioners, Dulin was pleased to vote in a raise for the employees before leaving.

Hurst may have found assistance in purchasing the generator through FEMA. Speaking about purchasing a generator, he said the department would only have to be responsible for 25 percent of the total cost. But plans are still sketchy and it will take some time for the paper work.

With paying for the generator in good shape the next problem will be finding one, the group reasoned. Hurst had been presented with schematics for a generator he had expected to fit the need, but the plans showed on review to be only a single-phase generator. The department will be requiring a three-phase generator.

The loss of two or three of the motors on pumps during the ice storm were due to the fact that they were single-phase, the commission concluded.

Along with the search for the appropriate generator is the search for less expensive switches.

The switches will allow the well pumps to shut off automatically when the electricity is restored to any well having power provided by generators.