SPENCER COUNTY, Ky. — Ten full-time Spencer County, Kentucky, EMTs and paramedics provide life saving care for the county’s nearly twenty thousand people.
But the pay and benefits those professionals are getting are not as good as surrounding counties.
Emergency Services Chief Chris Limpp manages the team.
“It’s a vital service for the county,” Limpp said.
The hard work these EMTs and paramedics put in isn’t met with the same compensation as some of its neighboring teams.
“We’re probably $10,000 to $15,000 on average below what surrounding counties are offering and paying,” Limpp said.
Bullitt and Shelby counties both recently increased pay for EMS employees in February 2019 and January 2020, respectively, to keep up with higher paying counties like Jefferson. But so far Spencer County has not.
“Clearly we’re not competitive in the marketplace,” Spencer County Judge Executive John Riley said.
Monday, a vote to increase an insurance premium tax that would be used to increase EMT and paramedic salaries failed. Riley says no one wants their taxes raised, but if nothing changes soon, it will keep getting harder to attract, and retain, talented employees.
The department has had a paramedic position open since December. There have been no applications.
“Well do you want me to raise your tax? Well of course not,” said Riley. “Well do want me to provide you with top notch, well trained, well equipped EMS service? Well, of course.”
Limpp and his team aren’t asking for or expecting raises to match other counties. They just want to begin getting closer.
“We can get on at least on the same playing field as those guys,” Limpp said.
But Riley says right now, it just isn’t possible.
“Some of the preliminary numbers we’ve looked at are just not going to allow us with our current revenue to increase those pay rates,” Riley said.
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