County looks at $1.1 million cost to meet compensation study recommendations

Paypoint HR principals Rick and Karin Campbell bring a summary of recommendations to the county board as Paypoint staff in front row and interested county department heads behind them listen. Photos/Roger Bianchini

The Warren County Board of Supervisors got an update on its contracted Compensation and Benefits Study at a December 18 work session: the good news: in general the County pays better than 6 out of 10 surrounding municipalities it was compared against; the bad news: the recommendation to improve that standing and employee retention will cost the County nearly $1.1 million; with a corresponding compensation study of the public school system still to come with a recommendation promised to be “a BIGGER number”.

How much bigger might be ascertained from staff numbers included in the June Request for Proposal (RFP) leading to the July 2018 contract with Paypoint HR provided by the County Human Resources Department. Those numbers for the county government were 337 total employees, 212 full-time, 85 part-time and 40 seasonal; and for the public school system 936 total employees, 791 full-time, 145 part-time.

Other bad news includes the fact that the richer Northern Virginia municipalities to the east in the D.C. Metro area that were not included in the wage comparison study (other than Fauquier to our immediate east) are still there and will continue to dangle higher salaries to qualified and experienced employees willing to deal with the 30 to 60-or-so-minute commute.

It was also noted that one regional community that was included in the comparison study, Frederick County does try to offer competitive salaries with some of those Northern Virginia communities like Loudoun County “which skewers the numbers a bit,” County Administrator Doug Stanley pointed out.

‘This gives us a lot to think about,’ Board Chairman Tony Carter said in response to the compensation study presentation.

“This gives us a lot to think about,” Board Chairman Tony Carter commented toward the end of discussion of the Paypoint HR power point presentation at the 10 a.m., one agenda item work session.

Carter’s earlier question to Paypoint HR representatives, “Can you guarantee that every employee will be happy if we implement this?” led to some laughter, as well as more serious responses from Paypoint HR President Dr. Rick Campbell and CEO Karin Campbell.

“What we do is establish what is fair pay in a given region,” Rick Campbell told the Warren supervisors who hold the County purse string decision-making authority.
Karin Campbell noted that the role of an independent, third-party consultant was to “bring an unbiased, objective opinion” to the county’s officials – “We are the messenger of these numbers,” she said.

The compensation study was contracted in July in an attempt to diminish the number of experienced employees the county regularly loses to higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
County Administrator Stanley elaborated that the comparative study area was comprised of 13 municipalities, including all adjacent counties and some of the towns in those counties.
After Paypoint HR CEO Karin Campbell reviewed the company’s methodology and scope which included an excellent 94% response rate from county employees, she cited one area where she noted “opportunity for improvement” by the county. That was in “the area of employee wellness, education and communication of benefits.”

She elaborated that some municipalities offer additional perks from cell service discounts to tuition reimbursements that employees look at as an extension of their benefits package.

‘We are the messenger of these numbers,’ Karin Campbell said of her company’s role in recommending changes to county compensation in order to improve employee retention.

Rick Campbell then reviewed the existing salary scale, what was determined as the minimum adequate living wage for this community – $12.18 per hour – and recommended alterations to the county’s wage structure to improve employee retention.

Those recommendations included: 1/ raising the salaries of positions below the $12.18 hourly rate – “nine 40-hour Part-Time General positions” requiring $25,787; 2/ raising the salaries of positions Substantially Below the competitive study area Market rate – 151 positions including 22 in the Department of Social Services and 30 in Fire and Rescue with the remainder General positions both full and part-time, requiring $929,784; and 3/ raise another 47 positions also considered below the Market rate – $142,990 to implement. Those numbers add up to a total cost of $1,098,561 impacting salaries for 207 county employees upward.

The recommendation concluded with advice to “continue providing raises to positions Near Market” rate, and discontinuation of “providing raises to positions Above Market or Substantially Above Market” rates.

The study summary concluded with a reference to more work on a Sheriff’s Office Career Development plan. – “Prior to implementing a career development program for any single department or employee group, career development plans for all non-supervisory personnel should be considered,” the report stated, adding that Sheriff’s Office deputies in patrol, animal control and school resource officer Grade 14 level – noted as the bulk of the department – was currently compensated at a 63% rate of the external study area market.

County staff estimated that board consideration of the final report would come in January or February 2019. A multi-year implementation plan has been requested by the County.