County payroll process tagged

A team appointed by Whitman County commissioners in March reported on Monday it selected a pilot project for improving county government performance.

Whitman County Public Works Director Mark Storey told commissioners that the work group, now known as the Performance Measures and Assessment Group, has David Ledbetter, Gary Petrovich, Bob Reynolds, David Nails and Storey as members. This group was asked by commissioners to select a pilot project with a goal of implementing methods of change that can be applied to many county departments.

The group recommended the countywide payroll process as the pilot project.

“It’s a test drive to see what works,” Commissioner Art Swannack said.

After attending training in Chelan last fall, board Chairman Michael Largent said he read Ken Miller’s book, “Extreme Government Makeover” that inspired him to try to implement change. Largent said the book discusses how government is not fundamentally different from manufacturing.

“The emphasis is about the process, not the people,” said Largent.

In a letter to the commissioners, Storey explained over the last several years, there’s been discussion about “whether or not the payroll system is efficient or even meets the needs of the county.”

Although Storey said in the process of evaluating the system, the team will not assume that anything needs repair.

“The staff across all county departments are currently doing a good job of meeting the needs of the current payroll system,” he said.

He also said that the employees should understand that the goal is not to reduce staff members, although that could happen in the future.

The team proposed:

• Conduct workshops with payroll staff.

• Meet with the elected and appointed department heads to put some of the results and suggestions to the test, and see if there are any roadblocks.

• Research other similar counties that have implemented similar changes.

• Meet with the commissioners to determine if any of the ideas or suggestions meet with approval.

After a series of workshops the team will provide a short report.

The commissioners will discuss this during a meeting in the near future.

“I’m excited,” Largent said.