Prater resigns as county’s EMA director
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Prater then said he doesn’t want to be the one to fill the full-time position.
“I appreciate the opportunity to serve as director but I cannot dedicate the necessary time that this position requires and still focus on maintaining a living for my family,” Prater said in a resignation letter he distributed to Safety Committee members Monday. “There are several issues that need to be addressed by this office that I feel cannot be addressed with the limited constraints of a part-time position.”
The resignation was a shock to Safety Committee members and County Executive Kenneth Rogers who was attending the meeting.
“I think it surprised everybody,” said Rogers. “Phillip has done a good job while he was down there but he has to weigh his priorities and I think it’s great he wants to spend more time with his family.”
Prater’s short stint as EMA director began in January. He replaced longtime director Richard Myers.
During the meeting, when Prater was describing the time he dedicates to various Emergency Management duties, he said, “It’s my absolute feeling it needs to be a 40 hour a week job.” When asked point blank if he wanted such a full-time position if one was created, Prater indicated he wasn’t interested.
Prater said he thinks it would be in the county’s best interest to establish a firm job description and decide on pay for a full-time director. Commissioners then discussed if that would in fact be their best option.
Rogers told the committee he would get in touch with Midstate counties of Warren County’s size and find out if their EMA director is full time and how much he or she is paid. Commissioner Les Trotman said Safety Committee members need to begin formulating ideas about what the EMA director should do.
“If the job is done correctly with grants and Homeland Security and is on call 24 hours a day, how much should we pay?” said Trotman. “If we keep it the way it is, how much can be expected of a part-time person?”
While tendering his resignation, Prater said he would stay on the job for a couple of weeks while the county works on finding his replacement. Commissioners scheduled a meeting this Monday to begin talking about guidelines for the new position.
The Safety Committee had already been discussing giving the EMA director a $13,000 raise, pushing the annual salary over $20,000. Along with the raise, the committee had also been considering making the position full time.