Work force conundrum

Goochland County's budget can be broadly broken down into three categories: people, equipment, and facilities As the county grows, more employees from law enforcement to information technology are needed to deal with increased demand for service, but there is only so much money to go around.

During the February 18 budget workshop, Director of Human Resources Kelly Parrish presented an overview of the county workforce. She reported that employee salaries represent more than 50 percent of the general fund budget.

The county—schools are a separate workforce—has 141 full-time and 21 part-time employees. Constitutional Offices— Sheriff, Treasurer, Commissioner of the Revenue, and Commonwealth’s Attorney—have 81 full-time and eight part-time employees. Parrish reported that the average age of the workforce is 43; average salary is $56, 866; and average years of service is 6.5. Demographic breakdown is 162 males, 89 females, 11.1 percent minority.

In addition to adding deputies and fire-rescue providers, the proposed FY 2021 budget includes a full-time GIS technician; custodian; and utility customer service specialist. New part-time positions include an administrative assistant in county administration, and convenience center attendant to increase hours of operation.

 Requested positions that were deemed unable to be filled include full time: two Sheriff sergeants; and one each animal protection officer; building inspector; groundskeeper; maintenance technician; transportation planner; and environmental inspector. Part time employees that did not make the cut were: fire logistic technician; PAPT coordinator.

County Administrator John Budesky said that the thing that keeps him up most at night is the concern that when a citizen calls 911 there are enough resources, both well-trained personnel and appropriate equipment to deal with the emergency.

On February 18, (see past recorded meetings on the BoS tab on the county website starting at the 1 hour mark to listen) Sheriff Steven Creasey explained that his agency, which  provides round the clock coverage of the entire county, has 40 deputies, one for every 587 residents. This chart compares Goochland law enforcement coverage to surrounding jurisdictions.

Goochland Deputy staffing compared to our neighbors.

The Sheriff said that the distance from one corner of Goochland to the other—Shannon Hill to Randolph Square—is 33.4 miles. For patrol purposes the county is divided into six sectors. Creasey wants to achieve mandatory minimum staffing with one deputy each for west, central and east with a supervisor “floating” to provide assistance as needed. Training, sick time and vacation can reduce the number. He long range plan would add 24 deputies to the force by 2025.

In response to a query from Board Vice Chair, John Lumpkins, District 3, the Sheriff said that the state comp board partially funds 24 deputies, one for each 1,500 residents. Lumpkins raised concerns about unfunded mandates coming from the Virginia General assembly. This was before the GA declined a pay raise for sheriff’s departments statewide on February 21.

Fire-Rescue Chief D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. also presented a minimum staffing plan. New positions deploy responders to the busier stations, which will continue to shorten response times and make more resources available.

Staffing for West Creek fire-rescue station, whose construction has been pushed to FY 2026, has not been delayed, those employees will be stationed at Centerville and Manakin. An additional fire marshal will help with inspections and possibly be shared with the building department.

Ferguson cited staffing requirements published by the National Fire Protection Association. He said that a single-family dwelling fire could require 18 responders, a strip mall 27, and apartments as many as 27 or 28 members if an aerial device is in use. Goochland fire-rescue, Ferguson explained, is a combination department whose volunteers work alongside career providers to serve our citizens. Recruitment of both volunteers and career members remains a challenge.

He explained that much of Goochland depends on rural water supply, transporting water from rivers and ponds to fight fires. A well-run water shuttle operation on a fire ground is akin to and wonderfully choreographed ballet, but it needs a lot of people just to move the water. Like law enforcement, firefighting is manpower intensive.

Deputy County Administrator for Community and Economic Development Todd Kilduff oversees county government functions that do the nuts and bolts of growth. His department is looking for further increased workloads as approved projects, both commercial and residential work their way through the development process.

Kilduff explained that he and Principal Planner Tom Coleman deal with the tasks that would have bene performed by the requested transportation planner that was not included in the proposed budget. They use on call engineers if needed.

People are the most important resource in any organization, especially those whose job is to serve the citizens. Hiring and retaining the most qualified employees to ensure that all necessary tasks are completed in a timely manner while staying within budget constraints is a challenge.