Things might be changing for some Sherburne County employees.
Some may be seeing their pay class changed. Some night see an increase in pay. Other might see a cut.
At a board of commissioners meeting earlier this month, Assistant Administrator Dan Weber and Human Resources Director Tammy Bigelow discussed the results of a recent class and compensation study of employees’ pay.
The study, done by the consulting firm Springsted, Inc., proposed a change from the county’s current 23-step pay scale to a 25-step scale.
Weber told the board although about 70% of employees are within the recommended range for their particular classifications, if the plan was put in place it could result in some significant changes.
“Implementing the proposal as it was presented would result in an increase of $140,750 in our budget and that would be by moving people up from where they are now to the recommended range,” he said.
As an example, the current pay range for an employee in pay grade 4 (office assistant, custodian, is $22,362 to $33,303. Under the proposed salary table, those numbers increase to $27,155.12 and $38,017.17.
Weber said there are a number of people who are being paid above the recommended range, also.
“So we have to talk about how to implement that at a future meeting,” he said.
Bigelow said employees have all been given the information. They had until July 10 to appeal Springsted’s proposal. Department heads were reviewing the appeals and had until July 17 to decide if they should be brought to Springstead.
“The number of appeals will determine when Springsted comes back with the final recommendation,” said Bigelow.
The final presentation on the proposal is expected to be given by Springsted in August following the conclusion of the appeal process.
At that point, the commissioners will decide whether and how to implement the plan.
HHS Staff
The board approved the hiring of five child protection positions in Health & Human Services (HHS).
Because of an increased workload due to tighter state mandates, the state legislature authorized additional funding for child protection services.
HHS Director Mary Jo Cobb said the county is guaranteed $262,400 in July and potentially another $65,600 in February, 2016 if the department meets outcome measures.
The five staff persons being hired include a child protection supervisor, three child protection social workers and a placement case aid whose hiring will be delayed by one month.
Cobb said none of the costs will be paid by the county. The total for all five positions is $326,175. In addition to the state’s contribution of $262,400, another $25,132 will come from Social Service Time Study (SSTS) revenue and $39,312 from Child Welfare/Targeted Case Management (CW-TCM) revenue.
Cobb said when the county earns the additional $65,600, that revenue will be used to fund child protection services.
