First responders in Meridian Township will receive an “appreciation” payment for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more than a year, many Meridian Township employees have worked from home or under flexible time schedules.
Most also qualified for a federal program offering up to 80 hours of emergency sick leave.
That’s not been the case for first responders, whose status as essential workers excluded them from some of those benefits.
On Tuesday, Meridian Township Manager Frank Walsh appealed to the board of trustees to approve a $1,000 payment for more than 70 police officers, firefighters and paramedics.
Walsh says it would recognize the hazardous conditions those employees have experienced during the pandemic.
“(They’ve received) no work from home, no 80 hours of time, no seven and a half hour workdays now,” says Walsh. “They’ve really had to step up, and they’ve had to continue that month after month after month.”
The board unanimously approved the measure.