.gif)
COLUMBUS —The Colorado County Commissioners met in regular session Jan. 23.
The commissioners discussed a policy regarding whether the county should compensate roads and bridges employees for the process of obtaining a Commercial Driver's License.
The commissioners agreed that employees should be compensated for mileage, meals and their usual salary. Precinct 2 Commissioner Ryan Brandt said he looked into two schools in Victoria and Bryan to see which school would be the best fit for the employees. Even though the school in Victoria is closer to work, he believes the school in Bryan is more turnkey and would benefit employees the best. Brandt said students at the school in Bryan are also able to complete tasks at home.
“Their average classes are five to eight people,” Brandt said. “You go for two weeks and they teach you to take the pretest and then after that, they're flexible in their timeframe. If an employee wants to come every day, they can. If they only one to come three days a week, they worked with that employee during the hands-on training.”
Brandt adds, “the other school that I've talked with in Victoria, you have to come in with your permit, there's a larger class and you only do your hands-on.”
“The school in Bryan, they have 190 hours for everything. If you finish earlier, you finish earlier; if you go past 190 hours, they reevaluate and there may be additional costs. So, if you send an employee on your time, it’s the employer’s substantial amount of time.”
Brandt noted that schools in Katy and Rosenberg were already full.
The commissioners deliberated on whether employees who go to school through the county need to work for the county for a certain term after receiving their CDL.
At the meeting, Commissioner Brandt expressed that there is an employee that he would like to hire as soon as possible, so the court moved to allow Brandt to proceed with the hiring process, while the court works on putting a policy together regarding school enrollment.
