LoudounNow
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LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE
[ Vol. 1, No. 34 ]
[ loudounnow.com ]
[ June 30 – July 6, 2016 ]
SNAP! CRACKLE! POP! Plenty of ways to celebrate Independence Day this week
Short Hill Saga Comes to a Close BY RENSS GREENE
Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now
Firefighter Black hauls his gear out to Tower Truck 602 at the Purcellville Public Safety Center. Loudoun Country is looking for ways to curb firefighter turnover, which is costing taxpayers thousands.
Walking Through Fire and Out the Door
How Can Loudoun Keep its Firefighters? showed that while 10 percent of all county employees left their jobs voluntarily, only 6.1 percent of fire and rescue employees— hen County Chairwoman Phyllis J. Randall (D- about 33 people—left voluntarily. At Large) gave her first-of-its-kind State of the That seems lower, but the leaders of the Department of Fire, County Address last month, she pointed out Rescue and Emergency Management say there is a problem— a problem in Loudoun’s combined fire-rescue the county spends a lot of time and money training new resystem: cruits, and traditionally, once a firefighter joins a department, “Unfortunately, I must report our he or she stays put. Loudoun firefighters are compenAnd a vacancy in a fire-rescue WHILE 51 PERCENT OF ALL COUNTY sated at a significantly lower rate job has big impacts. than their counterparts in the entire “There’s got to be three people GOVERMNENT EMPLOYEES LIVE IN Washington metro region,” Randall on the fire truck,” said Combined LOUDOUN, ONLY 26 PERCENT OF FIRE said. “Because of this, new firefightFire-Rescue System Chief W. AND RESCUE EMPLOYEES DO. SOME ers who are trained in Loudoun ofKeith Brower Jr. “There’s got to be ten leave and take with them their LIVE AS FAR AWAY AS SHERBURNE, NY, two people on the ambulance. I’ve training and potential.” got to have bodies in seats.” AND VIRGINIA BEACH. It’s not entirely a new complaint. But filling those seats takes, A few days before Randall’s address, conservatively, 18 months from the county government launched a classification and compen- the time the position is advertised. Then the recruit must go sation study to update its outdated job descriptions and pay through written tests, physical tests, a background investigascales. County managers say they regularly have to make excep- tion, an interview—and then wait for the next recruit school. tions to the county’s compensation pay scale to stay competitive The recruit school trains 15 people at a time at a minimum. with other area jurisdictions. The first phase of that study, in That means that not only does it take time to complete a hire, which a consulting firm will conduct a comprehensive review of but training has to wait until there are enough vacancies to fill. the county’s pay scale, is expected to take about a year. On the other hand, it also means the department can only hire so many at once.
BY RENSS GREENE
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Firefighter Turnover
A survey of county employee turnover in fiscal year 2015
A hectic month of worry for Loudouners around Short Hill Mountain came to a close with a united Board of Supervisors vote Thursday evening. Supervisors voted unanimously, and in some cases enthusiastically, to overturn the commission permit that would have allowed AT&T to build a 160,000-square-foot building on top of its existing underground facility atop Short Hill Mountain. There was no disagreement over whether to overturn the Planning Commission’s approval of the permit; the focus was on the reasoning they would use in their vote. AT&T had asked to withdraw the permit, but project opponents urged the board to turn down the permit based on the contents of the application. “Please shift away from the position that seems more loyal to AT&T,” said Lovettsville resident Sarah Stinger, who raised concerns about the facility’s runoff and use of water during previous board meetings. “I know that’s what they’ve asked you to do. Instead, take a position that’s more loyal to us, your constituents.” She said cancelling the permit based on the AT&T withdrawal “is like a Band-Aid. Instead, suture this ugly wound closed so that it can heal.” Residents have worried that merely allowing AT&T to withdraw its permit request would leave the door open to another attempt to build on top of Short Hill. Malcolm Baldwin, a member of the county’s Rural Economic Development Council, encouraged the board to take a strong stance. “You must not fear a lawsuit,” Baldwin said. “You couldn’t have a stronger suit.” “I’ve been in the county since I was 3, and everybody, every supervisor who sat on this board, has worked hard to keep western Loudoun, western
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