Norton calls for raise for county solid waste crew

Grady County Commission Chairman Charles Norton thinks county workers who work in filth every day of the week deserve higher pay.
During a called meeting Friday, Chairman Norton recommended the county commission consider pay increases for the solid waste crew who are charged with garbage collection, which includes cleaning up litter and dumpster overflow at the county’s dump sites.
At a recent commission meeting, a local resident appeared before the county commission urging them to address the condition of the county’s dump sites. A recommendation was made to look at more manned dump sites or transitioning to mandatory household garbage collection.
The county commission chairman said those discussions made him look into the current rate of pay for the solid waste crew.
Norton said that one of the crew members has been with the county 15 years and, according to the chairman, the crewmen are making less than $10 an hour.
“If anybody complains about us giving them a raise, I would invite them to submit an application,” Norton said.
Administrator Tobar said he would evaluate the current pay scale and compare it with the pay offered by other counties that operated unmanned dump sites.