Pay Raises Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. Correction Commissioner Says Jails System Improving

Corrections Commissioner William Marshall said for the first time since COVID-19 hit, jail and prison guard vacancies have fallen below 1,000 – standing at 990.

We have a class of 55 right now that will graduate next month,” Marshall said. “Our previous class we graduated was 45. And the class before that was 53. So we’ve made some significant hires and some significant impact when it comes to recruiting”

Correctional guard vacancies were recently up to 1,100. Speaking Monday before the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jails and Prisons, Marshall said the $21.1 million the legislature approved for pay raises is helping grow guard academy classes and retirees are coming back to work.

Marshall said changes in the six week class – getting recruits out on the floors at two and a half weeks – gives recruits and supervisors decision making experiences.

“It gives them an opportunity to see if this job fits them or not,” Marshall said. “It also gives the superintendent and the lieutenants and sergeants the opportunity to see how they respond on the floor, how they respond around inmates.”

Marshall said the new academy teaching plan also allows savings when it comes to training.

“We’re not training someone for six weeks at the academy, then they show up the first week in a facility like this and think, ‘This is not what I thought it was,’ and they’re walking out the door,” Marshall said. “We’ve already spent $18 to $20,000 on training. And so this has really greatly helped that.”

Marshal said 330 to 340 National Guard members, under emergency orders, continue to staff non-inmate contact posts at correctional facilities.

“We’re working towards trying to eliminate as many of those as we can going forward,” Marshall said. “As long as we continue to hire, we continue to bring new recruits in.”

He said a new comprehensive recruiting campaign is just underway, including a young public information officer hiree who is well versed in social media.

“We’ve started a new campaign with the Department of Commerce in regards to recruiting,” Marshall said. “We’re on the verge of releasing a new stand alone logo for our division, to try to attract some of the newer, younger generation of workers that would want to come and work for us, whether it be officers, counselors, therapists or office assistants.”

Marshall told the committee that, while a few facilities are at or just under capacity, some overcrowding continues. He said North Central Regional Jail in Doddridge County, with a population of more than 800, is about 300 inamtes over capacity.

“It’s just such a hotbed of an area right now when it comes to drug crimes and crimes in general that are feeding into North Central,” Marshall said.

Marshall said over the last calendar year, there was a point where they hired about 700 people, but lost about 650.

“Those numbers are starting to slow down,” he said. “Obviously because of the new pay plan. I’ve received several waivers recently, which is a good sign for the academy, which means we got people coming back that are already academy trained.”

Overcrowding and understaffing, along with physical conditions in the jail system, have sparked numerous lawsuits, alleging dangerous and deplorable living facilities.

Marshall said $60 million in eight deferred maintenance projects are underway statewide.

“We’ve also been working with some energy savings groups with the potential of working with them in order to get some additional projects completed in our jails and prisons and juvenile centers as well,” Marshall said.

He mentioned one project that would have a company set up a HVAC class for inmates at Salem.

“That company is also looking at fixing a lot of our HVAC systems going forward that are ready,” Marshall said. “Instead of trying to fix them by just completely replacing them.”

He said a new initiative called Desert Waters specifically offers mental mental health care for corrections officers.

“It’s another tool for our people to be able to talk to people,” Marshall said. “To be able to share experiences with people who actually speak their language and know what they are saying,”

Marshall told the interim committee that he’s hopeful, with new recruiting efforts, pay raises, retention plans and maintenance upgrades, the emergency crisis within the corrections system will lessen over time.

“The one thing that I knew coming into this job in January is, we were never going to conquer this,” Marshall said. “It will constantly be a challenge that we’ve accepted and I think we’re heading in the right direction.”

Corrections Commissioner Details Job Vacancy Crisis To Lawmakers

There are more than 1,000 job vacancies division wide, with most facilities lacking from 40 to 70 percent of needed staff.

As a declared state of emergency continues, West Virginia’s Corrections Commissioner told lawmakers he would welcome a special legislative session on pay raises.

William Marshall, the Commissioner for the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation presented a report to members of the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority on Sunday.

Marshall began by noting that there are more than 1,000 job vacancies division wide, with most facilities lacking from 40 to 70 percent of needed staff.

“We have over 300 National Guard members that are assisting in our facilities each and every day,” They’re doing a wonderful job for us. I’m not sure what we would actually do without them right now.”

Gov. Jim Justice called on the National Guard last year to assist corrections in non-front-line duties. Marshall said the guard assistance will cost taxpayers $17 million this fiscal year.

“We welcome the possibility of a special session to hopefully address some of the pay needs for the division,” Marshall told lawmakers.

House Bill 2879 would have given correctional officers a $10,000 pay raise over three years. The bill called for an initial $5,000 raise, followed by $2,500 over the next two years, and a $6,000 one-time bonus. The current starting pay for West Virginia correctional officers is about $33,000 a year, markedly lower than comparable positions in neighboring states and federal holding facilities.

The bill passed the House Jails and Prisons Committee unanimously but died in the House Finance Committee.

Marshall said the department’s mission now highlights increased and revamped recruiting efforts. He said they have improved the website, working to better connect with younger prospective employees through social media. Corrections now offers pre-counseling for applicants who would go through the process but become intimidated by the civil service test. They have also eliminated what Marshall called the strain of a six-week academy training stay.

“That was a strain on a lot of individuals to be away for six weeks from their families,” he said. “We’ve changed that process and we’ve got them working at the facility for two weeks shadowing an individual getting the basic training there, then taking some online courses. Then they would go to the academy for four days here and there maybe even a week,”

Sen. Charles Clements, R-Wetzel, asked Marshall about a sign he sees near his home.

“I drive by the St. Mary’s correctional facilities two or three times a week,” Clements said. “A big sign out there says ‘careers start here.’ If I decide I want to become a correctional officer, I go inside – and what happens from that point on?”

Marshall responded that throughout the corrections system, there’s a new emphasis on congeniality and helpfulness.

“We’ve instructed all of our facilities to be extremely proactive,” Marshall said. “We will sit down with you right there and get on the website and get you an application filled out right then. We’ll make it as easy as we can to get on the register and try to get them hired.”

Marshall said there needs to be some sort of compromise in getting pay raises to boost not just recruitment, but retention.

“We need to land on something to show the existing officers that we’re going to reward them with a higher salary,” Marshall said. “Our retention right now is just as big as our recruiting. We’ve hired roughly 150 since the first year, but we’ve probably lost that many.”

Several committee members said they were hopeful there would be a special session to consider pay raises for all 3,800 corrections positions, not just guards. Committee Chair Del. David Kelly, R-Tyler, told Marshall the effort to get pay raises to corrections officers will continue.

“I want your people to know that we hear them,” Kelly said. “We’re trying to do what we can to get something to happen for them.”

In a statement last week, Justice says he still agrees on needed corrections pay raises and that the problem must be solved. So far though, there is no word on a special session.

School Bus Driver, Mechanic Shortage Affecting Student Education

The challenge to recruit and retain public school bus drivers remains at a critical level, and it’s having a ripple effect on student education.

The challenge to recruit and retain public school bus drivers remains at a critical level, and it’s having a ripple effect on student education. Meanwhile, a shortage of bus mechanics is only aggravating the problem.

Randy Yohe spoke with West Virginia School Service Personnel Association Executive Director Joe White about the urgent need to find a solution, including legislative remedies, enacted or dismissed, to fix the problem.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Yohe: We’ve heard for a while now from the West Virginia Department of Education transportation folks that there continues to be a critical need and shortage of school bus drivers. How critical is it?

White: It’s very critical. I’ve just completed a quick text message sent to a few of our leaders. With about five or six counties, we were probably 50 drivers short of making all routes every day, and that was just a handful of counties. It gets worse as you go into all 55 counties with our students paying the price. In some instances, they’re unable to be picked up. The parents either had to take them or they were excused for the day. A lot of our bus drivers are doubling up or tripling up runs, making extra trips or getting as many students on the bus as they possibly can. So that’s what we’re faced with.

Yohe: Does that get you concerned about safety?

White: It does concern me with safety, and I’m sure it concerns them as well. I have to say this, in the state of West Virginia, we have a top-notch transportation department. I’ll put these guys and girls up against any state because they’re very well trained. Still, we always have some concerns about safety – if a bus is crowded or they have to be concerned with the number of trips they’re making and doubling and tripling up. In most of our counties, our drivers can’t even take a day off to go to their doctor’s appointment because they don’t have anybody to replace them.

Yohe: I’ve heard you make the statement that substitute bus drivers are a thing of the past. Why is that?

White: The majority of the reasons why is the pay. Compared to the salaries with our surrounding areas, we’re lower than all of our surrounding states. We’re about 26th in the nation with pay. It’s so much easier now with the way things are that they have their CDL license so that they can get jobs driving KRT buses, they can go drive water trucks, they can drive fuel trucks and they get paid more. There’s a lot of responsibility on drivers. Our drivers have to take training if there’s medication involved for a student. And all of the staff development hours are required over and above the 18 hours required by state code. In some instances, it’s easier just to get a job somewhere else.

Yohe: The recently passed House Bill 2346 lifts the 140 Day maximum limit for bus driver retirees who have returned to work. Does that make a difference? Or will it?

White: It will make a difference. I think the number that was thrown out we had about 141 retirees currently working that the bill would affect.

Yohe: I understand there’s a critical shortage of school bus mechanics and technicians. How severe is that?

White: It is very severe. In most counties where we have this issue our mechanics are driving every day. Think about that our mechanics are having to stop what they’re doing, and drive the buses, because there’s not enough bus operators. Number one, our counties really don’t hire enough mechanics to start with to keep the fleets going. Number two, some of our mechanics drive every day. Because of the shortage, we have maintenance guys that have been drivers that still hold certification. It is an issue. This somehow has to be addressed.

Yohe: That becomes a ripple effect, doesn’t it? If you’ve got mechanics, driving buses and other workers working as mechanics, you’re going to have some shortfalls?

White: Absolutely, you’re absolutely correct. And it’s not just the drivers, it’s not just the mechanics. They can leave – mechanics, technicians, they can go just about anywhere, and get paid more money with the expertise that they have. So it falls down to this, if we want to make education a centerpiece, as they say, then we need to encompass all of it and take care of all of the issues. People are not lined up to work, to get jobs in the school system. They stay away from them, even the teachers, everybody. It’s just there’s a shortage in just about every field.

Yohe: If there’s not something done to get these pay rates to some kind of regional equal compensation, what other effects may this personnel shortage have on West Virginia education?

White: It’s going to have a drastic effect on education in general, and on the state of West Virginia. We have to take care of those that serve in the education industry. It will just be a ripple effect if it’s not addressed and taken care of, and that includes the benefits as well. You’ve got to understand that over the years benefits have slowly eroded away. The pay is not equal to where it should be. There was a bill that was introduced from the House Education Committee that would have drastically raised service personnel salaries and would have put them comparative to surrounding states. Not only do we think that would have brought more people, I think it would have brought folks that have left the system to come back. You’ve got to understand that most of the majority of the service personnel in this state qualify for federal assistance because of the pain. The average service personnel salary right now in the state of West Virginia, according to the department of education, is $31,000 a year. These hard-working folks have to raise and feed their families. Our government has to be serious about this.

Delegates Reflect On Passed, Failed Legislative Session Initiatives

Several lawmakers called the just completed legislative session historic, while others are left with concerns over a focus on major economic development rather than helping working West Virginians.

Just moments after he struck the final midnight gavel ending the 60-day session, Speaker of the House, Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, said passing the Third Grade Success Act was among the biggest priorities lawmakers accomplished. The speaker followed that thought with a profound overall session assessment.

“I’ll go so far as to use the word historic,” he said. “So in these last 60 days, we have divided and made more accountable the largest entity of state government in DHHR [West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources]. We have passed the largest tax cut and put more money back in the pockets of West Virginians than any legislature ever in history. We have restructured and reformed the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) and put it on a secure footing for the next generation of public employees and school teachers. And we’ve done all that while giving pay raises to our public employees and putting teachers aides in all first, second [and] third grade classrooms in West Virginia without raising $1 of taxes.”

From the Democratic side, House Minority Whip Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said while debate was less abrasive and more congenial than sessions past, he thought the allocations of a more than $1 billion state budget surplus were tilted too far away from the working class.

“We shouldn’t have had PEIA premium increases,” he said. “I mean, we have record surpluses and now we have record PEIA increases, tell me how that happens? We found a way to give pay raises to legislators, which I certainly do not support, pay raises to the governor, pay raises to everybody, and we’re gonna give increases to the PEIA recipients. It’s the one thing that they’ve held on to for years. We gave away hundreds of millions of dollars to potential projects and we ignored those who are actually here. They’re actually working and had been in West Virginia for many years raising their families. And we told them, ‘you’re getting the increase.’”

A year ago, members from both sides of the aisle dealt with troubles with foster care, a crisis CPS worker shortage and a Department of Health and Human Resources in disarray. House Health Committee Chair Amy Summers, R-Tyler, said the reorganization of DHHR, along with new initiatives and leadership, will lead to better outcomes for the health and welfare of the state’s most vulnerable residents.

“I’m just excited that we’re on a new path, we are going to come up with some solutions,” Summers said. “We feel that the DHHR division is really going to give us more insight and direction into those departments. I’m just excited about everything that’s happened this session and we’re going to continue to work hard. It’s just the first step. We’re going to continue to work hard to evaluate all of those different issues that we have during the interims that are coming up.”

House Minority Leader Doug Skaff, D-Kanawha, said while tax cuts and pay raises were welcomed by working West Virginians, he and others from both parties have grave concerns over slighting the crisis in state corrections – a 33 percent employee vacancy rate and more than $40 million spent on stop-gap National Guard jail and prison support.

“I wish we would have put more focus on public education and more focus on getting a cost of living adjusted for our retirees, and the one thing that we didn’t do is our costs in our jail system or in the corrections are just continuing to be a mess,” Skaff said. “You’ve got to focus on not kicking the can down the road with record surpluses. You can still do more until there’s no vacancies out there. I say, let’s keep working harder, we gotta fill all those public employee positions that are out there because they take care of our people of West Virginia. I’m glad we’re finally, after years, giving some of the money back to the West Virginians, and I’m okay with that. But I just think we need to get our house in order first before you give out the rest of the money.”

House Technology and Infrastructure Committee Chair, Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, said he was disappointed in a lack of progressive legislation passed from his committee.

“There’s several pieces of cutting red tape or several pieces of legislation that did that in regards to infrastructure development,” he said. “There’s also been some bills relative to broadband that just didn’t make it across the finish line. It’s always a struggle, but we want to make our state the fastest place to deploy all infrastructure, especially in this inflationary environment.”

Nearly every delegate WVPB spoke with said much of the legislation passed was just a first step. Now, we will see in what direction those steps may head.

House Passes PEIA Reform Legislation To Prevent Program Collapse

After more than three hours of passionate debate riddled with number crunching and tales of the haves and have nots, Senate Bill 268, meant to shore up the state’s Public Employees Insurance Agency passed with a 69 to 27 vote and four members absent.

Updated on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 3 p.m.

After more than three hours of passionate debate riddled with number crunching and tales of the haves and have nots, Senate Bill 268, meant to shore up the state’s Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) passed with a 69 to 27 vote and four members absent.

The bill presenter, Del. Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, spoke of a ballooning PEIA deficit that now stands at $154 million and will loom to more than $422 million by 2027 without reform.

The proposal raises the insured member premiums 24.7 percent, keeps the health insurance payment at an 80 to 20 split, charges an additional $147 per month to maintain a spouse in PEIA coverage and raises medicare reimbursement rates to West Virginia hospitals to 110 percent.

Rohrbach talked of primary care providers denying PEIA policy holders medical treatment, saying this is the first significant premium hike in a dozen years, and a combination of a proposed $2,300 state employee pay raise coupled with tax cuts would help offset the premium increase.

“Failure to act is not an option for a couple of reasons, one of which I just gave you about the dire financial straits that we’re headed towards,” Rohrbach said. “We’re heading into worker’s comp 2.0, where the program is about to collapse.”

Del. Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, said his calculations showed it would cost a PEIA policyholder who wanted to keep a spouse covered $2,400 a year, negating any pay raise increase.

Bill amendments adopted include keeping an 80/20 payment to those using out-of-state health providers working in contiguous border counties, folding in Senate Bill 577, limiting insulin co-pays to $35 and preventing the state from adding immunizations to be required, stating that state code would need to be revised.

Amendments that failed included waiting until fiscal year 2025 to implement premium increases and limiting premium hikes to 10 percent a year.

Votes against the bill from Republicans like Del. Todd Kirby, R-Raleigh, came with outrage that the state would use $500 million to boost economic development instead of helping its 230,000 workers maintain their health insurance.

“When you hear the proponents of this bill talking about investment, what they’re really talking about are deals in which our government, excuse me, our taxpayers dollars, are given not as loans, not as tax incentives, but are just given to international corporations,” Kirby said. “Given to some of the richest people in the world with zero guarantee that our people will ever get any return on our tax dollars.”

Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said his no vote came with seeing previous PEIA fixes come without a more than a $1 billion current state surplus.

“There was a bill that passed that created the PEIA stabilization fund and it is a pretty interesting concept,” Garcia said. “It would allow the legislature to put money into that fund but it also allowed for the Secretary of Revenue to try to take from certain special revenue sources every quarter. I find it interesting, when we didn’t have the money, we found a way. Now that we have the money we are looking for a way out of doing what is right for our public employees.”

Rohrbach closed debate on the bill by reiterating that Senate Bill 268 was the best way at this time to prevent PEIA from going under.

“If we keep the failing system of frozen premiums and direct general transfer funds that we currently have, it’s also going to risk collapsing provider availability and it ultimately risks the solvency of PEIA is the place that we’re headed right now,” Rohrbach said. “If this was a private health insurance plan, the state insurance commissioner would have us under a severe watch list heading towards insolvency. Therefore, the conclusions were reached that this plan has to be stabilized.”

The bill was voted effective from passage. It now goes back to the Senate to consider the amendments from the House.

**Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said the fee was $147. We have clarified to reflect that the fee is monthly.

Reporter Roundtable Talks PEIA, Pay Raises And Gender-Affirming Health Care

On this episode of The Legislature Today, we have our weekly reporter roundtable to recap the week and explore what’s still to come. WVPB’s Chris Schulz and Emily Rice sit down with Brad McElhinny of WV MetroNews.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, we have our weekly reporter roundtable to recap the week and explore what’s still to come. WVPB’s Chris Schulz and Emily Rice sit down with Brad McElhinny of WV MetroNews.

Also, the Senate’s PEIA bill is now in the hands of the House of Delegates. The proposed health insurance premium increases and coverage reductions to shore up the financially challenged program has many up in arms. The bill defenders say proposed pay raises and tax cuts will even things out.

The Senate completed legislative action on some 20 bills, including six supplementary appropriations.

In the House, a bill to reduce how much West Virginians pay for insulin passed and was sent back to the Senate for their consideration. Emily Rice has more.

The Senate Health and Human Resources Committee had a lengthy debate Thursday on House Bill 2007. The bill would restrict gender-affirming health care for transgender minors. As Curtis Tate reports, the committee approved the bill but not entirely along party lines.

Finally, innovation met education on Career Technical Education Day at the West Virginia Legislature. From offering baked goods to analyzing biometrics, West Virginia students put on a 2023 vocational show.

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The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.