Budget team agrees to grade increases for treasurer’s deputies, staff to set dollar targets

Budget staff and county leaders discussed proposed grade changes in the treasurer’s office and agreed in principle to move the chief deputy to a grade‑7 classification and another deputy to a grade‑5 classification, while asking staff to confirm the specific dollar figures to include in the published budget.

"We can certainly move them because a grade 7 for the chief deputy and a grade 5 for the deputy treasurer, that's in line with other offices... What I guess I need the assistance with is just knowing the dollar targets," Speaker 5 said when presenting the request during the budget review. Staff reviewed the new pay chart and identified step values for grades 71, 72 and 73; they discussed options to place the position on a step that most closely matched the original request.

Staff provided example dollar amounts from the new chart: grade 72 at $45,973; grade 73 at $46,920; and step targets the treasurer requested close to $46,133 initially. After comparing the old chart to the new, staff agreed to select a step that minimized dollar shifts while honoring the new grade for parity with other departments. "So on the new chart, if you go to a 7, you have a choice between $45.09 $7.03 and 46 9 20. So it's hitting above and below, but not right at. So we can go to a 7 3," Speaker 5 said.

Budget staff said they would apply the new chart figures to the treasurer’s office sheets and circulate the updated pages; staff recorded the agreed changes in the working spreadsheet but did not take a formal vote during the session.

Why it matters: Grade and step changes determine the actual wages funded in next year’s budget and affect comparability with similar supervisory roles in other county offices.

Next steps: Staff to insert the selected grade/step dollar figures into the treasurer’s budget lines and circulate corrected pages to the treasurer and commissioners for confirmation.