The Dickinson County Commission reopened discussion of the proposed 2025 compensation plan but did not adopt the package, instead asking the county's compensation consultant for more detailed, printed numbers and options for a phased approach.

Commissioner Ron Roller and Commissioner Craig led the session to untable the compensation plan and invited public comment and staff presentations. Marcus Rothschild, assistant county administrator and finance director, reported the county has completed its 2024 year-end close and moved into 2025 accounting work. Dwayne, the county's compensation consultant, outlined options labeled "plan b" and "plan c," including a possible 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and different approaches to resolving long-term wage compression.

Why it matters: County employees' wages and benefits are a large and growing share of the county budget, and commissioners and residents said they want any pay changes to be sustainable and transparent. Public commenters cautioned against large across-the-board increases without clear funding and urged attention to service impacts if salaries outpace revenue growth.

Discussion and public comment
Don Neville, a resident, said he supports fair pay but questioned automatic raises based on tenure: "I have no problem with people being paid fairly for the job safety. I do have a little bit of a problem with just graduating people up just because they've been here so many years." He urged the commission to consider employee performance and overall budget constraints.

Dan Miller, a resident who presented a short audit summary, said payroll has risen as a share of total expenditures from 51.8% in 2021 to 55.6% in 2023 and warned that heavy salary commitments could force service reductions if revenues fall. Several other residents raised similar affordability and process concerns; Marla Reiser cited Robert's Rules of Order questions about whether the motion to untable was procedurally in order.

Consultant options and staff clarifications
Dwayne, the compensation consultant, said plan b would "own all the compression overnight," while plan c would "take the big bite out of it" and defer some adjustments into a later year. He described a sequence many commissioners favored: a small COLA up front, right-sizing minimum pay scales for employees below the calculated minimums, then addressing compression.

Dwayne summarized one illustrative breakdown given to the commission: "we would allocate $242,000 for a COLA ... right size the minimum pay scales for 39 employees for $130,000 ... if we put the $6,000 limiter, 56 of those 12 people will be made whole to the tune of about $370,000" and that other tenured employees would receive smaller portions of the remaining adjustments. He cautioned that a multiyear approach can become difficult because pay scales and compensation continue to change year to year.

Commissioner and staff requests
Commissioners repeatedly asked for more detailed, printed reports showing the winners and losers under each option, the total cost, and the interaction with benefit costs. A commissioner said benefit-load percentages for other counties typically range from about 18.5% to 28% and asked staff to calculate Dickinson County's current benefit load. Marcus Rothschild said he will provide updated information, including expected health-insurance savings after switching plans to PKD.

Next steps
The commission voted to put a detailed compensation plan item on the next meeting agenda and requested the consultant return with specific, printed numbers for plan c (and alternate phasing options) so commissioners and the public can review exact costs and distributions before any final vote. Commissioners discussed the possibility of making approved increases retroactive if timing allows for payroll processing.

Votes at a glance
- Consent agenda: moved, seconded and approved by voice vote (no roll-call tally recorded).
- Resolution 010225 (declare listed highway and county equipment surplus and authorize sale on Purple Wave): adopted by voice vote. Items listed for surplus included two 2003 Mack dump trucks (with snowplows), two snowplows, a 1988 air compressor, a 2006 Genie scissor lift, a 2006 Chevy Silverado, and a 2020 Dodge Ram; the resolution number as read was 010225.
- Sole-source purchase from Holiday Equipment (fuel station card reader replacement), $10,703.90: approved by voice vote; staff described it as a temporary fix and sole-source because the vendor is the only supplier of the needed equipment.
- Motion to go into executive session with the county attorney for attorney-client privileged matters (15 minutes): carried.
- Motion to untable the 2025 compensation plan and proceed to discussion: carried; commissioners then deferred final adoption pending additional detail.

Ending
The commission did not adopt a final 2025 compensation plan at this meeting. Commissioners directed staff and the compensation consultant to return with itemized, printed costings and implementation options for the next meeting so elected officials and the public can examine the fiscal trade-offs before a vote.