Although unintentionally placed on Monday’s meeting agenda, the Fisher County Commissioners resumed February discussions regarding a proposal to reimburse employees for receiving CDL certification training. While the court dove deeper into the idea earlier this week, the only point the commissioners unanimously agreed upon was that discussions should continue.
Commissioner Micah Evans initially proposed a commercial driver’s license reimbursement agreement for the court’s consideration last month. He explained that with the state imposing more complex requirements for CDL drivers, many new drivers are attending training programs to earn the necessary qualifications. Programs typically cost around $4,500 and take around six weeks to complete.
Due to the combination of high demand for qualified drivers and the difficulty and expense of obtaining the certification, CDL drivers have little trouble finding jobs that pay considerably higher wages than what the county can offer. The agreement, Evans said, could potentially be used as both a recruiting tool as well as an incentive for retention.
Evans worked with Fisher County Attorney Michael Hall to draft an initial agreement modeled after a similar policy used in Mitchell County. He admitted the presented agreement was merely a starting point, but it showed commissioners how the county could offer reimbursement to employees that attend training to acquire pre-employment certifications or impose an employment commitment for those the county sends to training.
While not opposed to the idea, his fellow commissioners were less convinced of the policy’s expected results, and were doubtful of the county’s ability to enforce contracts that required employees to repay training costs; especially after a termination. Commissioners also questioned last month how to address long-time employees that have had a CDL for years and have remained loyal despite the demand for drivers.
This was a question Evans answered when opening Monday’s discussions, saying that most of the county workers with CDL certifications are in some form of retire/ re-hire status, and although appreciative of the years of service, the policy’s goal is to incentive future employees in efforts to be competitive in the current market.
“We have no incentive for younger people to hire on with us,” said Evans, saying the policy would allow for flexibility within each precinct budget to cover training costs or reimbursements with discretionary funds. “It’s not something you have to use,” said Evans. “It’s just a tool you could use to help hire people.”
Additionally, Evans said that if the county pays for an employee to attend training and their salary while they go to school, the county should have a way to better guarantee a return on that investment. He said the agreement also has a 30-month employment commitment.
While the court could see merit in the idea of an employment agreement, commissioners were still not convinced the county would simply be training employees for higher-paying opportunities in the surrounding oil fields.
While Evans admitted it was possible the county could pay for employee training and still lose them to higher-paying employers, he said the policy would not be mandatory, it would only be a tool commissioners could use if they chose. Commissioner Dexter Elrod also pointed out that the state is continuing to change certification requirements, and it might make sense to wait to see what develops before creating a new policy.
Evans said that given the questions raised, he felt it would be better to table discussions until more information could be presented. The court agreed, possibly looking to resume policy talks when the court meets again in April.