Owen County approves highway hires, brings superintendent position into grade and will request council pay increase

Owen County commissioners voted May 10 to expand highway staffing and formalize recent personnel changes for the highway department.

Highway staff (speaker S3) reported upcoming paving by contractor E and B Paving and requested overtime and new hires to finish projects. The board approved a motion to hire four operator drivers and two laborers to restore needed field capacity. "So I'll make a motion that we hire 6 people, 4 drivers and 2 laborers," S4 said; the motion was seconded and carried.

Commissioners discussed training and retention. They debated paying for CDL courses with a commitment period to protect county investment and asked the county attorney to review the legality of training-contract provisions. The board also agreed to present a salary-request for the highway department to the county council at its next meeting to help fund the reinstituted labor positions and competitive wages.

In an executive-session follow-up, the board voted to make the acting highway superintendent (identified in the record as Chad) the permanent highway superintendent and to pay seven months of retroactive difference between assistant and superintendent pay; the board simultaneously reclassified Benita to office administrator/secretary with seven months of back pay. Chair S1 asked staff to bring salary materials to the council meeting so that funding and job descriptions can be finalized.

What happens next: the highway superintendent will advertise openings and proceed with hiring; commissioners will present a salary request to the county council and seek approval for reinstated labor positions and any pay adjustments.