Their arguments varied, but Oconto County employees interviewed by the Personnel and Wages Committee on Friday had one thing in common — a desire for better compensation.
County employees dissatisfied with their position on a pay scale adopted by the County Board in November presented appeals to the committee on Friday. Employees stated their case to four committee members and Administrative Coordinator Kevin Hamann.
Next, the committee will decide if it will recommend granting these appeals.
“I hear the arguments, and I feel the emotion,” committee member Guy Gooding said.
The pay plan is a result of an employee classification/compensation study performed by Madison-based Carlson-Dettmann Consulting. It was implemented with the Dec. 29 pay period, and whatever appeals are granted will take effect with the March 23 pay period.
Several employees argued they traditionally had been grouped with a specific set of employees, and this grouping moved ahead further on the pay scale.
Others submitted compensation data from other counties in the state, in an effort to prove Oconto County compensation fell short.
Members of the Forestry Department argued the potential danger of their work environment was not properly accounted for when their compensation level was set.
Forestry Foreman Dave Borish said logging is considered to be the most dangerous occupation in the nation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Along with the dangers inherent to operating saws and heavy machinery, forestry work involves other hazards, like rough terrain, weather extremes and insect-borne diseases.
“It makes a lot of sense, what they’re saying,” committee member Elmer Ragen said.
The employees’ work environment was graded by Carlson-Dettmann as midrange on its scale, and Hamann said the committee would not adjust the scale, although it might consider work environment as it considers the employees’ appeals.
Environment was one of many factors, including education, credentials and level of decision-making required on a job, that were considered when pay levels were determined, Hamann said.
Robert Skalitzky, head of the Forestry, Parks and Recreation Department, said he oversees a county forest system, one of only 29 in Wisconsin. He said county forest administrators used as comparisons in the study may not manage their own forest systems or deal with National Forest issues, timber sales or dams, as he does.
Skalitzky was one of a couple of employees who was red-lined; his compensation of $36.40 per hour was determined by Carlson-Dettmann to be higher than the maximum of the pay range and is frozen until the pay plan catches up.
Committee members will hear appeals Thursday from the Health and Human Services and Highway departments, before discussing which appeals should be granted.
Any changes to the pay plan will require approval from the committee and the County Board, which is scheduled to review the committee’s recommendations on March 20.
Seventy-three of approximately 250 county employees submitted appeals. The first round of appeals took place in January with Carlson-Dettmann representatives and department heads. According to Hamann, of the 73 employees, 50 appealed in the second round to the committee, and 23 dropped their appeals.
Under the Carlson-Dettmann plan, individual employee compensation increased from 0 to 8 percent. Overall, employee compensation increased about 30 percent in 2014 for a total of about $235,000 — an additional $178,000 for wages and $57,000 for fringe benefits.
The compensation study has taken longer to complete than projected, and more employees appealed than anticipated, Hamann said, yet most employees were happy with the new pay plan or had the opportunity to appeal if they weren’t.
“The final result will be a good plan to base our compensation on,” he said.
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