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ELKINS -- The Randolph County Commission voted unanimously to approve compensatory time policy changes to its employees handbook during its regular meeting this week.
More than any other department or position in the county, the change directly affects the Randolph County Sheriff's Office's Prevention Resource Officers. In the past the PRO officers, which include deputies Rocky Hebb, Daniel Pennington and Ethan Carr, continuously gathered comp time instead of overtime when working after-school events.
Before voting on the proposal, Sheriff Rob Elbon and Elkins High School Assistant Principal Sarah Wamsley attempted to convince the commissioners to keep the policy the same.
"The guys that use this the most are the PRO officers," Elbon said during the meeting. "They accumulate those hours throughout the year with all the school programs, dances, and things like that. Generally before August that comp time is used up…
"I think it's imperative that we keep the Sheriff's Office comp time policy. We have done it the last three years, there's been no abuse of it, and the guys use it up generally right after the start of the new fiscal year."
Wamsley, who was joined at the meeting by EHS Principal Carla Lambert and Assistant Principal Bryan Currence, spoke to the commissioners during the public comment section of the meeting.
"We are concerned about the potential elimination of compensatory hours for our school-based Prevention Resource Officers," Lambert said. "These officers are not only essential to the daily safety and well-being of our students and staff, but they also provide a critical presence at a wide range of extracurricular events beyond our traditional school day.
"Our PRO's are trusted, high-trained professionals who build meaningful relationships with students… Their contributions extend well beyond the school bell. Compensatory time allows these officers to attend after hours events, where their presence is not only appreciated, but essential… They are more than just police officers on duty for us, they are part of our school family."
Commissioner Cris Siler, who was joined by fellow Commissioners David Kesling and Chris See at the meeting, spoke about the proposal.
"My problem is that we can't do it for one and not do it for the others," Siler said. "It either has to be all or nobody. It either has to be everyone has comp time or no one has comp time.
"We have a lot of financial problems and it causes a lot of problems with payroll. Keeping up with that is a lot of work for the girls in the office. I understand where the sheriff is coming from and the school, we just can't do it for a select few and not do it for everybody."
Kesling said the three PRO officers combined to build up 895 hours of comp last year, and that time could be used to put more officers on the road.
"We are not saying that they (PRO officers) don't do an outstanding job," Kesling said. "They do a great service to the community and to the students. I think that time can be used where we are lacking enough deputies -- we are looking out for the county as a whole…
"If they are doing a case and they need to stay over, that's overtime they should be paid any time they over 40 hours. And we are looking at that for anybody in the Courthouse complex."
Elbon asked Kesling if the Commission was going to pay the deputies overtime for the extra hours, and he responded, "Overtime is there, if they have a case that they have to do, overtime is always an option…"
Siler responded to Elbon, "Of course overtime would have to come out of your budget. It's not going to come out of the County Commission budget."
Elbon told the Inter-Mountain on Friday that he understood why the county made the decision, and he respected it.
"They save those hours instead of putting down overtime, because neither the school board or the county has the money to pay that," Elbon said. "I am just wondering where we are going to come up with the money to have the same coverage.
"I know the Commission is trying to save money across the board and I don't fault them for that. But those guys work a lot of hours trying to take care of the stuff they do.
"It's something we are going to have to sit down and look at and talk about," Elbon said. "We need to work it out so that we get the most bang for the buck and what these guys do. The Commission voted on something they thought was beneficial to the county and I'll try to make the best out of the situation and work something out. They (Commission) have a job to do and we appreciate everything they do for us."
The next Randolph County Commission meeting will be May 15 at the Wees Annex beginning at 1:30 p.m.