Fayette | News

Salary study splits commission 3-to-2

Tue, 03/13/2007 - 4:44pm
By: John Thompson

Last year, when two new county commissioners were elected, many residents thought the squabbling and bickering that often found its way into meetings would be quieted.

Well, fasten your seat belts, because this County Commission, is starting off the new year in a quarreling mode. Last Wednesday, the commission spent nearly an hour discussing the merits of a comprehensive salary and classification study of the county’s more than 700 workers.

County Administrator Chris Venice explained the last study was completed in 2001 and many of the job descriptions and classifications had changed. She recommended letting the University of Georgia conduct a new study for $47,500 that is already included in this year’s budget. Venice’s recommendation set off a squabble that pitted many of the county’s staff against commissioners Herb Frady and Eric Maxwell.

“I just don’t see the point in paying $47,500 for something that we can do in house,” Frady said.

But Human Resources Director Connie Boehnke argued the county was not staffed to complete a survey.

“We’re not staffed to devote five to seven people to it, like the University of Georgia is,” she said.

Commissioner Eric Maxwell also said the county could quickly save nearly $50,000 by not funding the study.

But Public Safety Division Director Jack Krakeel was not so sure the county could fulfill the task.

“You’re making it simpler than it is. You have difficulty factoring jobs against each other,” he added.

The issue finally came down to a vote, with Chairman Jack Smith siding with Commissioners Robert Horgan and Peter Pfeifer to fund the study.

“We don’t have the external purview to complete this task. We don’t have that expertise in human resources,” Smith said.

In other action, the commission voted to institute a community work service program with the Fayette State Court. Water director Tony Parrot explained Judge Fletcher Sams could provide the county with as much as 7,000 man-hours a year for tasks such as picking up trash on the county’s roads.

Parrot said gloves and transportation would have to be provided to the workers, but overall, the program is “a bargain.”

Commissioner Eric Maxwell agreed the program could be good for the county, but cautioned there would have to be oversight of the program.

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2 commissioners against waste
Submitted by loanarranger707 on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 3:53pm.

I side with Eric Maxwell and Herb Frady on this issue.

Employees can easily write a description of their job, and then submit it to their boss for review and approval. That becomes their “job description.” An outsider can only interview the employees and write out what they describe. That takes longer, requires two people, and is inefficient. Of course it costs the value of the extra time from the employee and the cost of the interviewer’s time.

The current employees’ salaries are already available to the county. The county can easily remove the names of the people involved, and it can then prepare a report consisting of job descriptions and the corresponding pay. This report could then be shared with neighboring county governments: they send you their report and you send them yours. Then you compare salaries for each job description and see what needs to be adjusted.

The sharing and comparing takes a little time and effort, but not that much. A reasonably intelligent person could handle that in two days. A retired teacher or other educated county resident would probably be happy to handle that for about $1,000. The county saves $46,500.

You don’t get the prestige of “the University of Georgia” in all this, but the people who work for the University of Georgia are ordinary people who put their pants or pantyhose on one leg at a time in the morning like the rest of us. It is preposterous to think they have superior knowledge. To some people, an expert is a man in a suit from out of town with a briefcase. We have plenty of intelligent people right here in Fayette County who can be entrusted to do this kind of work, if only we had commissioners with the talent to see that.

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Objective
Submitted by IMNSHO on Thu, 03/15/2007 - 3:20pm.

As a county employee AND a county resident, I'd rather have an objective outsider do this than the employees. In the grand scheme of things, the cost really isn't that much.

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Why $47,500 salary study wastes county money
Submitted by loanarranger707 on Sat, 03/17/2007 - 8:11am.

Wouldn’t you prefer the county would spend $1000 for a salary review and distribute the extra $46,500 among the county employees?

The relationship between employees and their bosses does not have to be an adverse relationship. On the contrary. And people who live in Fayette County can be just as qualified and objective as outsiders in performing statistical analyses and making sound professional recommendations.

In the end, when it comes to salaries, “the market” is the strongest influence. Many people (including county employees) perform work more important and valuable than swinging a bat and hitting baseballs, or running on a field and catching footballs, but unfortunately our capitalist system causes distortions like that to happen. Any county employee who finds someone else willing to pay him (or her) double what he now receives is likely to jump at the opportunity, and no one will blame him.

Meanwhile, the county government must pay enough to retain as many good employees as it can, but not so much that the taxpayers are burdened with unnecessary costs. Like the cost of expensive out-of-town consultants in whose best interest it is to recommend low salaries (except for the person responsible for their hiring) so they’re invited back to make more studies.

Eric Maxwell and Herb Frady had it right, except that it would have been helpful if they could have explained their reasoning the way I have the opportunity to do it here.

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Salary study
Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Sat, 03/17/2007 - 9:55am.

Why is a salary study needed? All these studies do is raise everyone's salary, none are ever cut back!
If we can't figure out how to decide what to pay the help in the government and to keep it controlled by supervision, then we need some more figurers!
It seems that it is a "sin" for anyone to question others pay. No one ever get disciplined, and certainly not fired.
Folks we pay somewhat low for what the job entails "maybe" but they take the job for the easy work, the pension, and the security. Needs to change. All of those people with a few exceptions are good people, they just need a supervisor and discipline.

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Salary study
Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Sat, 03/17/2007 - 9:54am.

Why is a salary study needed? All these studies do is raise everyone's salary, none are ever cut back!
If we can't figure out how to decide what to pay the help in the government and to keep it controlled by supervision, then we need some more figurers!
It seems that it is a "sin" for anyone to question others pay. No one ever get disciplined, and certainly not fired.
Folks we pay somewhat low for what the job entails "maybe" but they take the job for the easy work, the pension, and the security. Needs to change. All of those people with a few exceptions are good people, they just need a supervisor and discipline.

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Well, yes Dan you got it
mudcat's picture
Submitted by mudcat on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 6:44pm.

An in-house review of this would take 2 hours. If you want credibility get an outsider to oversee it and it would take 2 days. A retired person - like Greg Dunn would be a good choice and 2 days of his time would only be worth $10 - saves the county even more money.

Don't fall into the big government trap, Jack. It is our money as much as it is yours.
meow


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