County leaders back pay overhaul plan

Leaders of Whitman County’s various departments urged commissioners Monday to approve a plan to overhaul employees’ salary structure.

The county’s classification committee two weeks ago presented a plan that would change how employees receive regularly scheduled raises and provide longevity raises for long-term workers.

Fran Martin, health department director, presented commissioners the opinion of the Elected and Appointed Team of county officials, or EAT, that the committee’s plan should be approved for next year.

“We believe this is a more easily understood system for employees,” said Martin

Facilities Manager Bob Reynolds, chair of the classification committee, added it would also be easier for department heads to manage their payrolls.

The EAT committee consists of the heads of various county departments.

Currently, employees receive “step” raises of three percent every 18 months. Employees move up 14 “steps” through the county’s classification system.

The new plan would pay those 14 step raises annually at two percent and also include two percent raises for employees after they mark their 17th year with the county.

The committee’s proposal also included a one percent raise for employees for the next three years to allow their pay to catch up to the market rate.

Martin said the annual step raises would be easier on management to budget annual spending plans. She added the EAT committee would like two percent “catch-up” raises.

Commissioners, as they did when the classification committee proposed the plan, worried about how increased salaries would impact the county’s overall budget.

“We just want to make sure we don’t overspend,” said Commissioner Michael Largent.

Largent worried the raises could make assembling the 2013 budget harder as the county struggles to deal with cost increases that are outpacing revenues.

“We need to come up with the money,” agreed Commissioner Greg Partch.

Gary Petrovich, the county’s administrative director, reported the plan would add about $41,000 to the spending column.

Partch said the plan may be difficult to implement for all employees next year, as union employees would have to vote to accept it.