EASTON, Pa. – Northampton County Council awarded contracts for a pair of studies, capping a months-long push that often brought council into conflict with County Executive Lamont McClure.
- Northampton County Council voted to award contracts for a pair of operational studies
- A study of the Gracedale nursing home will cost about $40,000
- Another comparing wages of county employees and their counterparts at other employers will cost $64,000
Affinity Health Services will evaluate operations at the county-run Gracedale nursing home, at a cost of just under $40,000. The company already conducts mock surveys of the facility to prepare for licensing evaluations.
Council members said they are looking for possible efficiencies or departures from the latest best practices, and to answer questions like whether the facility should still house four residents in each room.
Separately, Bolton Partners will conduct a $64,000 study of county employees’ pay and benefits, and compare them to offerings from other employers in the area.
The pay study only covers the county’s non-union employees, which some members of council see as a shortcoming. Council Solicitor Steve Spadoni has long expressed concern that extending the study to union employees could run afoul of collective bargaining agreements.
“I think we will be not fulfilling the opportunity of this pay study if we aren't looking at the vast majority of employees.”John Goffredo, Northampton County Council
“I think we will be not fulfilling the opportunity of this pay study if we aren't looking at the vast majority of employees,” Commissioner John Goffredo said. “I understand there's some hesitation and whether or not we're able to do that. I believe that we are, most certainly. That is our job.”
“The charter gives us the responsibility and authority to set wages,” said Council Vice President Ron Heckman. “My position is that we have all the rights, pursuant to that, to find out what we feel the wages are.”
Representatives for both companies previously appeared before council’s Personnel and Finance Committee to answer questions about their bids.
Council would not typically vote on a contract worth less than $100,000, according to Director of Fiscal Affairs Steve Barron. However, it must sign off on spending from the council contingency fund.
County council set both studies in motion last April, when it unanimously passed a resolution directing the procurement office to develop a process to hire a contractor to conduct them.
In September, council authorized a request for proposals — the first step toward hiring a contractor. McClure vetoed the measure but council overrode the veto.
