Flurry of ambulance change requests approved

WASHINGTON — The Washington County Board of Supervisors worked their way through 11 consecutive change requests for the county’s ambulance service Tuesday morning. All but one of the items were approved, with the exception delayed by the prospective hire’s need to schedule a physical exam before signing on.

With six of the requests hiring new employees to the emergency medical service, the agenda item reflected an effort to restore staff counts after a monthslong trickle of resignations from the ambulance department, which has faced internal controversy since the suspension of its director in October.

“We were needing to get back up to full staffing, so that is the main reason for all the change requests,” Interim Ambulance Director Katrina Altenhofen said.

The rest of the paperwork directed pay raises and transitions from part-time to full-time status for current staff, including two who were promoted to field supervisor positions. Altenhofen said some of those staff would see their wages increase beyond the amount typical for their new titles, as errors in the pay matrix were corrected.

“I am trying to get folks to where they were supposed to have been, based on the levels that were established but weren’t really … followed through,” she said. “So, some of them … their level made a change because of noticing that error from the past.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com