County pay plan could change
By Steve Herring
Published in News on May 4, 2015 1:46 PM
A possible update to the Wayne County job classification and pay plan will come before Wayne County commissioners when they meet Tuesday.
During an early January budget retreat commissioners instructed County Manager George Wood to review the existing plan and make recommendations.
Tuesday's presentation is not expected to deal with specific amounts, but rather with the schedule of pay, expense allowances and how jobs are classified.
The commissioners' meeting will start with an 8 a.m. agenda briefing followed by the formal session at 9 a.m. Both will be held in the commissioners' meeting room on the fourth floor of the county courthouse annex.
In a memo to commissioners, Wood said that plan should be flexible enough in order to work in any fiscal year, whether county revenues are strong or "barely growing."
Also, it should reward the best employees instead of disregarding performance and giving across-the-board pay increases, he said.
The plan should also provide way for the county to increase pay when it documents that a position is underpaid when compared to the relevant job market, Wood said.
Finally, pay should be based "upon what comparable jobs are paid in the job market, not on whether the pay seems too low or high," he said.
County employees have gone for several years without pay increases because of the struggling economy, Wood said in the memo.
As a result, the county has used an informal system in which department heads ask for merit increases for some employees each year, he said.
That is not a fair system, Wood said.
He is proposed that the current 19-step per grade plan be replaced by a beginning, middle and ending step.
Under Wood's recommendation raises would be based on an annual evaluation of each employee. The evaluation would be done in July and the first half of August by supervisors and department heads using a form to be developed by the human resources department.
Also, in each proposed budget, the county manager would propose a percentage of salaries and benefits to go into a pool for each department.
For example, if the manager recommends a 1.5 percent pool, each department head would get that amount of money to cover 1.5 percent of wages and benefits for his or her department. The exception would for the department heads' wages, which would go into a pool for the county manager and assistant county manager to determine.
Wood said in the memo that each year a rule would be determined for the maximum percentage raise any one employee could receive. In the example above, if the pool is 1.5 percent, the maximum any one employee could receive might be set at 1.75 percent.
However, the department head must stay within the 1.5 percent pool of money for raises.
"Keep in mind that if one or more employees get more than the average 1.5 percent, some employees would have to get less," he said in the memo.
Wood is expected to ask the board to vote on his recommendation.
Other items on the agenda include:
* Presentation of 2014 Community Child Fatality Prevention Team Activity summary survey.
* Older Americans Month activities update and motion to approve proclamation for Older Americans Month in Wayne County.
* Motion to approve Mental Health Month in Wayne County proclamation.
* Motion to approve ordinance on Wayne Executive Jetport rules and regulations.
* Motion to adopt resolution approving Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Area Consortium agreement and appointing chief elected official or his designee.
* Review of dental insurance renewal.
* Motion to approve policy on budget amendments
* A request from Larry Jorvig to Rezone Lot in Brogden Township from Residential Agriculture 20 to Village District.
Items on the consent agenda include: Relay for Life Month in Wayne County proclamation; establish public hearing for June 2 at 9:15 in the commissioners' meeting room on county budget for fiscal year 2015-16; Wayne County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Program agreements; declare Sheriff's Office 2009 Dodge Charger and accompanying equipment surplus property and donate to Wayne Community College; budget amendments.