Court approves two road hires amid concerns about turnover and winter readiness

The Scott County Fiscal Court approved hiring two new road-department employees, but several members pressed county managers for a plan to address recent experienced-staff departures and winter readiness.

The court voted to hire Nathan Puckett and Dom Martin, with the motion made and seconded during the meeting. Jeff, a road-department representative, told the court the county has lost "several, actually, 6 very experienced snow plow operators," and that it can take ‘‘2 seasons’’ of training before a new employee is fully competent on the routes. JR Brandenburg, representing road operations, warned: "We are gonna struggle this winter if we have a bad winter because we got a lot of inexperienced people that we're gonna have to try to train." Several magistrates pressed for exit interviews and considered provisional hiring or pay adjustments to retain senior staff.

Court members discussed pay structure, training logistics, and internal options such as in-house CDL training. Jeff noted the county grants partial credit for outside experience (about 75% credit) and pointed to regular tenure pay steps every 2.5 years. The judge asked staff to return with additional analysis of pay comparators and exit-survey findings before making systemic changes. The hiring motion carried by voice vote.