Thirteen new jobs to cost Oconee $600k

To create 13 new government jobs in the next Oconee budget, the county will have to budget $600 thousand, for salaries and benefits.  In a workshop this morning, the county administrator gave her recommendations for budget year 2022-23, and elicited questions and comments from county councilmen, meeting as the members of the budget and finance committee.  That prompted Administrator Brock to defend the new positions, such as three additional deputies and three additional, full-time fire fighters.  As for three, new paid fire fighting positions, Councilman Hart commented that county chiefs have complained of poor working relations between paid fire fighters and the corps of individuals who volunteer to answer calls.  Brock gave an impassioned defense also of her recommendation for the county to hire a second code officer at a time when there are increasing calls to investigate the safety in makeshift housing and suspected sub-standard homes.  Another consideration, said Brock, is that the existing code office feels compelled six out of 10 times to request a deputy to accompany him when he goes out on a call.  Councilman Davis says it’s a sign of the times that Oconee County is seeing increases in people who try to establish squatter’s rights in abandoned housing and the safety considerations those attempts make.