Pulaski County has taken another step toward reforming the pay structure of its employees.
During a joint session of the Pulaski County Commissioners and County, a proposed salary matrix was reviewed. The document has been developed over the course of several months with the aim of saving the county money on new hires, but also providing incentives such as raises for longevity.
Commissioner Larry Brady says he likes the structure of the document.
“I like the accessibility of looking at it and knowing, for instance, if the Sheriff has a couple of new hires coming on board, or a department head has a couple new hires coming on board, they’re able to look and put two and two together,” says Brady.
The document has progressed sufficiently to allow for some criticisms about a few minute details within the pay structure. Disallowing subordinate employees from earning more than their supervisor was cited as desirable.
Debates surrounding the salary matrix on Monday night focused their attention on how to compensate for employees that are re-hired by the county after leaving employment for another job or some other reason.
County Council member Linda Powers says county service counts.
“If he was not let go from the county, or she was not let go from the county: county service is still county service,” says Powers. “You would probably have a probationary period, like a 90-day probationary period to make sure they’re going to stay with the county. But their county time would still serve as county time.”
No action was taken by the boards in joint session.
The Pulaski County Commissioners gave the salary matrix their blessing – which will allow the County Council to continue working on the document in future meetings.
