Northampton Supervisors approve ‘hazard pay’ for staff

The Northampton Supervisors approved a one time ‘hazard payment’ to staff at their meeting Tuesday evening in Eastville.

In three separate budget amendments, the Board approved a total of $480,125, which will be dispersed to all County employees in the form of one time payments.

The General Assembly approved a one time up to $3,000 bonus for Compensation Board funded sworn positions in sheriffs’ offices and regional jails, including sheriff, sheriffs’ deputies, regional jail superintendents and corrections officers.

Active fire, police and EMS employees will receive a $3,000 bonus if they worked from January 1 through September 30, 2021.

The Board extended the bonuses to the rest of the County’s first responders who worked during the time period, approving $2.50 hazard pay for every hour worked during the same time period up to $3,000.

A similar one time payment was extended to the to the following departments: County Administration, Commissioner of Revenue, Treasurer, Finance, IT, Electoral Board, Clerk of Court, Commonwealth’s Attorney, Facilities Management, Solid Waste, Social Services, Parks and Recreation, Planning, Permitting and Enforcement and Johnson Grass enforcement. This payment will be $1.25 for every hour worked up to $1,500.

The County will be responsible for $278,787 of the money, which can come from ARPA funds because it was passed as hazard pay, as opposed to a bonus.

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