The Elkhart County Council has voted against giving extra pay to several county workers for the additional hours they’ve put in during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emergency Management Director Jennifer Tobey proposed the additional pay to commissioners, noting that as a department head neither she nor many of her colleagues could ever have imagined the amount of work they’ve put in. Tobey said that she has regularly worked 16-18 hour days since mid march.

The requested money would have come out of CARES act money given to the county from the federal government. Speaking against the additional pay, The Elkhart Truth reports Councilman Tom Stump suggested that the extra work is part of their job as they were hired to handle emergencies.

The proposal fell with a 5-2 vote.