At first glance, it appears Bartholomew County government added more workers to its payroll last year when a total of 89 employees were hired across various departments.
But that figure can be deceiving. It doesn’t take into account that 90 people left the county’s employment in 2024, according to a report from county auditor Pia O’Connor. In other words, the county ended 2024 with one less full-time employee that when the year began.
Advocates have maintained that higher wages are needed to compete with salaries and benefits in the private sector. A 4% across-the-board pay hike for most of the nearly 500 county employees was included in this year’s budget. While that is the same increase provided last year, there was a 6.5% salary increase allocated to most county employees in 2023.
Nevertheless, 64% of those who left the county’s employment did so voluntarily, O’Connor said. That percentage does not include nine retirements, O’Connor said.
The county department with the largest turnover (26) was the Bartholomew County Jail. The department with the second highest turnover (13) was the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center. Despite a variety of services such as a shelter, day treatment center, drop off program and school aftercare facility, the center is perhaps best known for its juvenile detention facilities.
Rounding out the top five departments with high turnover are the highway garage (8); the sheriff’s law enforcement division (6) and maintenance (6).
