FAYETTEVILLE -- Some Washington County justices of the peace said they want to continue discussing a new pay plan for employees before the Quorum Court makes a decision on the 2023 budget.
Lisa Ecke, justice of the peace for District 6 and head of the Personnel Committee, said Friday that she will have the pay plan on the agenda for a committee meeting set for 5:30 p.m. today at the County Courthouse.
"I want us to talk about our salary ranges and our job assessment program," Ecke said Friday. "We're going to look at both plans that have been discussed. We're going to look at the grade changes and salary adjustments of both plans, the county judge's plan and the assessor's plan."
The justices of the peace voted 12-3 to include what was called a "hybrid" plan in the 2023 budget at a special meeting Thursday. Justices of the peace Sam Duncan, Eva Madison and Willie Leming voted against moving the pay plan forward.
Several justices of the peace expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, and Ecke said she thinks the plan violates county policies and procedures.
Ecke also said the pay plan has become a personal issue to some, with County Judge Joseph Wood and Assessor Russell Hill having a heated exchange Thursday night over how the decision was made to exclude Hill's proposal from consideration at Thursday's meeting.
Ecke was concerned about errors in the data included in the pay plan, and said she wants a "clean" copy of the plan to be discussed Monday.
"We need to get the right information to make the right decision, absent personalities. We need to remain professional," she said.
Leming, justice of the peace for District 13 and a member of the Personnel Committee, agreed more discussion is needed. Leming said he wants the justices of the peace to have all of the information about the pay plans and to consider whether changes being proposed violate county policies.
Leming said the proposal would do away with the county's Job Evaluation and Salary Administration Program and give all the control to the human resources director.
Lance Johnson, justice of the peace for District 1, said he's not interested in continued discussion of the pay plan. Johnson said the budget process is flawed and frustrating, but it can't be prolonged indefinitely.