County workers to get raises
Staff writer
After pushing the issue of employee pay back and forth for weeks, county commissioners voted Monday to give employee raises of an undetermined size in July.
The decision follows weeks of discussion and came after commissioners spent months ignoring a pay study done three years ago.
Malayna Maes, of the McGrath HR Group, told commissioners two weeks ago that new positions have been created for the county and that cost-of-living raises were three years behind similar counties.
The average cost-of-living increase given by other counties over the last three years is 4.73%, she said.
Commissioners reviewed the one-year, two-year, and three-year proposals Maes suggested to catch up employee pay.
Commissioner Jonah Gehring was all-in for increasing employee pay, but commissioner Kent Becker was hesitant.
“My concern has been with implementation,” Becker said.
Becker said he worried employee pay raises would deplete the general fund. The money for raises would come from the general fund.
“Whether I’m right or wrong, I always thought it would be better to implement it over a couple years,” Becker said.
Gehring said if they begin raises in July, employees would be paid what they weren’t paid for the prior year.
The raises, however, will extend over the coming year, not the end of 2021.
“Come January, they’re not going to get a raise,” Dallke said.
“It’s getting close to getting caught up to whatever market is,” Becker said.
Department heads and commissioners will not get July raises.