Raises rescinded for Weems workers

Franklin county commissioners voted last week to rescind any raises given to employees at Weems Memorial hospital last year.

The board voted 4 to 1 to return all pay rates to where they were in September of 2015.

The hospital approved about 76 thousand dollars in raises in the last budget year.

The motion was made by Commissioner Cheryl Sanders who said she feels the hospital needs to be in better financial shape before people start getting increases in pay.

She also said she felt it was unfair that the upper echelon workers got increases while the nursing staff did not.

The motion passed 4 to 1; District 1 Commissioner Rick Watson opposed the move.

Commissioner Watson said he would like the issue delayed until the county could find out what role Tallahassee Memorial Hospital plans to play in the hospital’s future which could have a big impact on how the hospital is operated.

Sanders also made a motion to have an independent financial audit done of the hospital and all of its departments including the two clinics in the county.

Sanders said she feels the audit is needed before the county goes into debt for 10 million dollars renovating and expanding the existing hospital building.

Miss Sanders said she feels the audit is needed to verify that the numbers provided by the hospital are correct to see if the county can even afford the new hospital.

She said she does not have faith that the hospital is providing true numbers.

The motion for an independent audit did not receive a second.

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