County staff press supervisors on salary-step catch-up and flex-time tracking; administration to include plan in next budget

County employees and staff raised questions Dec. 30 about the status of a salary study and how the county will restore employees to appropriate pay steps, and about the county's flex-time practices for department heads.

An employee asked whether regraded positions had received step increases; administration responded that the board directed a plan to return employees to target steps over a four-year period and that aspects of that plan would be included in the 2025-26 budget proposal. Administration explained that the board had already implemented some step increases on July 1 to begin the process and that the full catch-up will be staged to spread fiscal impact over multiple years.

Staff and supervisors discussed implementation mechanics: July 1 cost-of-living adjustments were implemented and employees who lost steps when regraded received a one-step increase July 1 and another step on their employment anniversary date. Administration agreed to prepare a red-lined report showing which employees remain to be adjusted so the supervisors could evaluate individual cases during budget deliberations.

Separately, department heads described the county's flex-time practice for exempt management positions: flex time was intended to avoid detailed hour tracking for certain managers, but many managers now track flex time to document on-call or after-hours work. Supervisors and staff agreed that the flex system functions similarly to comp time for operational purposes and that a dedicated work session with department heads after the budget cycle would be useful to develop options or clarify policy.

Administration committed to return with a plan and supporting documentation in the budget packet so the board could review step adjustments and options for flex-time or vacation buyout policies.