BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials said Monday the county may be due for a review of its pay scale, from employees to elected officials.
The Job Evaluation and Salary Administration Program Committee met to consider a handful of job descriptions for positions the prosecutor, collector, sheriff and county judge. The panel, made up of elected officials and Shirley Sandlin, chairman of the Quorum Court's Personnel Committee, also touched on questions about employee pay and raises for elected officials.
What’s next
Benton County’s Personnel Committee will hear a report on possible raises for elected officials and other personnel when the committee meets at 6 p.m. today in the Quorum Courtroom in the County Administration Building, 215. E. Central Ave., in Bentonville.
Source: Staff report
County Clerk Tena O'Brien pushed for a review of the pay scale saying some employees, particularly those in lower-paying jobs, have been left behind.
"We've taken care of the higher positions," O'Brien said. "The lower positions, to me, have been ignored."
O'Brien would like to look at the pay scale and job descriptions, along with a comparison of how people in different offices are paid for doing similar jobs. Some employees get to a certain level on the pay scale and then remain there for years, she said.
"I'd like to review people doing the jobs and see where they fall within the pay grades," she said.
Deanna Ratcliffe, treasurer, said she would like to see the county look at other methods of setting job descriptions and pay scales and consider whether the county's system should be changed.
"Could we have a committee to look at all the options?" she asked.
Sandlin said the Job Evaluation and Salary Administration Program Committee met monthly when the last overhaul of the salary structure was done in 2011. Barb Ludwig, human resources administrator, said a complete review is a long-term project.
"If we decide to do something it would be a huge project," Ludwig said. "It would probably take all of 2017 to implement."
Justices of the peace also asked Ludwig to bring a proposal to increase pay for elected officials back to the Quorum Court, through the Personnel Committee. A plan to increase pay for elected officials over a period of years to match the pay of Washington County officials was discussed during budget meetings last year but wasn't acted on.
Ludwig said she was asked to update that plan and to work up an alternate proposal to bring elected officials' pay up to a certain percentage of the pay range set by the state. The state sets pay ranges for elected officials based on the population of the counties and then increases them by a set amount every year, Ludwig said. Benton, Washington and Pulaski counties are the three counties with the highest pay ranges. Ludwig said she'll bring information on the pay ranges to today's Personnel Committee meeting.
One sticking point for increasing pay for elected officials was whether any increases should be tied to raises for employees. The elected officials have made that connection in the past, Ratcliffe said.
"It seems to me we decided at elected officials meeting we wouldn't feel comfortable doing that," Ratcliffe said of increasing pay for elected officials without giving employees raises.
Raises for elected officials and reviewing the pay scale may be discussed today, but both are likely to be ongoing issues, Sandlin said.
"It may be mentioned, but then it would have to go through budget hearings and on from there," she said.
NW News on 06/21/2016