News : Supervisors approve raises for county employees; controversy continues

Some of the best jobs in Benton County in terms of pay and benefits, are jobs working for the county, said Supervisor Dave Vermedahl.

"It's a hell of a deal," said Vermedahl, explaining that the county insurance program costs county employees much less than the Vinton-Shellsburg school district's program when his wife, Lisa, was a teacher.

But that does not make the supervisors' job of setting pay increases for certain county employees any easier.

The supervisors set pay raises for employees in seven county departments last Tuesday, after discussing the issue in consecutive meetings.

Some county employees' wages are based, by Iowa law, on a percentage of the salaries of the elected official for whose office they work. Other departments, the Conservation Board and the Emergency Management Agency, have independent boards that set salaries and wages for their employees.

But for the rest, the supervisors have the responsibility of determining wages and annual pay increases. It's part of their job description; one of their biggest tasks is setting the county's budget each year.

One of the challenges is that there is no formal system for pay raises. That has left some department employees and department heads feeling as though their employees are underpaid compared to other departments.

"I'm not concerned about myself," Treasurer Kelly Geater told the supervisors last week. "I am concerned about the six people who work in my office."

Recorder Lexa Speidel agreed with Vermedahl on the benefits of county employment; she said she makes more as recorder than she did working in the private sector. Her only concern was that if the salaries of other offices were raised more than hers, then her employee would soon be making less than those in other offices. The supervisors have not yet acted on the recommendations of the Compensation Board, which makes recommendation for the salaries of elected officials. See the story about the Compensation Board's meeting and recommendations HERE.

Vermedahl said he would like to set up a system for pay raises before he leaves office at the end of 2012. But after the meeting, he said it may be difficult to come up with a system upon which everyone would agree. The unpredictable nature of the county budget is also a factor; many county employees had no pay increase last year.

Not everyone agreed with the decisions the supervisors made last week. Some employees expressed anger at the result. Mary Halstead, the director of Benton County Transportation, has asked the supervisors to be included on the agenda for the Tuesday, March 8, meeting. She discussed the issue with them after their meeting last week.

The supervisors gave less of an increase then they were asked to approve, although the amount of the increases varied from department to department. The complete list of raises they approved last week is below. The supervisors continue to discuss the Social Services and Secondary Roads wages.

Barb Greenlee was one of the employees who did got get as much of a raise she had asked for. She and her husband Mark work together in the Public Health and Sanitation Department. The Greenlees have long called on county leaders to set up a pay scale system that ties job descriptions and experience.

"I think they do need to head in that direction," said Barb Greenlee. "I always thought that they should let folks know, when they start, where they are going to be with wages in the future. That would alleviate a lot things from the board. But that hasn't happened yet."

Changes approved by the supervisors last Tuesday include:

CountyAttorney’s Office:

No change in salaries for the administrative assistants or second assistant county attorney.

Auditor’s Office:

Gina Edler from $28,175 to $29,000

Treasurer’s Office:

Nancy Jorgensen – from $25,305 to $27,000

Rose Sackett – from $28,031.50 to $29,000

Joy McGowan – from $28,031.50 to $29,000

Maintenance:

Rick Bramow – from $37,310 to $38,810

Justin Birker – from $27,040 to $27,540 on July 1, 2011and $28,040 on January 1, 2012

Social Services:

Carol Zander – from $30,908.80 to $31,808.80

Transportation:

Mary Halstead - from $41,000 to $42,500

Dana Burmeister – from $30,368 to $31,268.00

Land Use/Sanitarian:

Marc Greenlee – from $61,295 to $64,295

Barb Greenlee – from $41,000 to $44,000