Washington County Quorum Court Debates Employee Raises

FAYETTEVILLE -- Two Washington County officials urged caution from the Quorum Court as it considers raises next year for about 570 employees.

The 15 justices of the peace met Monday to discuss salaries in next year's budget and raises, which could be given across the board, by merit or by some other measure. No decision was made, but the issue will be raised again as budget discussions continue this fall.

Meeting Info

Washington County Quorum Court

When: 5 p.m., Sept. 2

Where: Quorum Courtroom, Washington County Courthouse, 280 N. College Ave., Fayetteville

On the Agenda: The final reading and vote on increasing early voting locations in the county.

Source: Staff Report

Employees in law enforcement, rural road work, animal control and other public services were given at least 3 percent raises this year, costing about $1.2 million. Now the average employee makes about $36,000.

If the county goes with a simple percentage-based raise again, the increase will need to be about 2 or 3 percent to stay in line with local businesses and organizations, salary consultant Blair Johanson told the panel. He stopped short of making specific recommendations until the next salary-focused meeting Sept. 30.

Such a raise would cost roughly $750,000, comptroller Cheryl Bolinger said.

The county typically shies away from raises based on merit and performance, partly because one Quorum Court can't impose obligations on the next and partly because of the legal risks that come from a merit-based system. Employees unfairly denied such raises can sue the county.

Still, several justices of the peace said they wanted to give the idea another look. Harvey Bowman of Springdale pointed to the "20-80 rule," which says 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work.

"Those people need to be acknowledged and rewarded for their effort," Bowman said, joining Rick Cochran of Fayetteville in support of merit-based raises.

Other justices flatly opposed merit-based raises, including Barbara Fitzpatrick of Fayetteville and Rex Bailey of Springdale, two justices of the peace who rarely agree. Fitzpatrick is a Democrat and Bailey a Republican. The primary concern was whether merit-based raises can be unbiased.

Tom Lundstrum of Tontitown, meanwhile, favored options helping lower-paid employees, such as a flat raise of 50 cents or $1 per hour or bumping their pay grade altogether.

"You need to have a system in place" for any of the options, said Lindsi Huffaker, human resources director. Anything less than fair could lead to legal challenges, she said. Huffaker and Johanson both cautioned the panel to keep in mind some options could cost more than others and require substantial changes to policy.

In other business, the panel gave its second reading to a proposal to boost early voting sites in the county but didn't vote on it. It will get a final reading and vote Sept. 2.

The Election Commission is requesting less than $30,000 for four new sites in Prairie Grove, Fayetteville and Springdale. The amount of money and number of sites has gone down and up again in recent weeks in response to concerns from the panel.

NW News on 08/26/2014

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