Mower County’s comparable worth study is complete, but county employees should not order new carpeting yet.

Wednesday, March 08, 2000

Mower County’s comparable worth study is complete, but county employees should not order new carpeting yet.

Even though the study suggests a 7.2 percent across-the-board pay increase would be in order, the study also noted current county wages are within the pay equity guidelines.

Bob Bjorklund of Bjorklund Compensation Consulting, reported to the Mower County Board of Commissioners Tuesday on his findings.

Also in attendance were county employees and department heads who filled every seat in the meeting room.

Bjorklund explained how the study was performed, including using another consultant to verify his findings.

Bjorklund also told the commissioners he used salary survey information from Fillmore, Freeborn, Dodge and Olmsted counties in Minnesota, Cerro Gordo County in Iowa and the cities of Austin and Faribault as well as the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Into that mix he also poured private-sector salary data.

The results of the study concluded the county’s average rate of pay falls within the market salary range, while some fall below the minimum rates of market pay and starting rates of pay are 8 percent below the predictable minimum rate of pay.

While that information may have been confusing, so were his conclusions.

Bjorklund said his comparable worth study concludes county employees should receive a 7.2 percent increase over their current pay. In addition, those employees whose salaries are below the market minimums should be advanced to higher steps on the salary schedule. Also, those employees whose salaries are between the minimum and maximum market salary range should be advanced to the closest salary step on the schedule.

There was more.

Bjorklund also said the comparable worth study concluded those employees whose salaries are negotiated would receive an additional half-step increase.

Lastly, anyone over the maximum salary range figure would have their salary frozen.

The cost to implement the 7.2 percent increase and other adjustments: $515,000.

With county employees and department heads straining to see a slide presentation by Bjorklund, the obvious question was: "Can we have a copy of the final report?" The answer was "No." Only the county commissioners were provided with a hard copy of the data collected by Bjorklund.

Estimates of the study’s cost ranged between $30,000 and $35,000, the commissioners did reveal.

Ray Tucker, Second District county commissioner and chair of the board, said the report will be studied by the county commissioners before the information is made available to the public.

The county commissioners plan to discuss the report’s findings March 28 at a regular meeting.

County Coordinator Craig Oscarson said: "The report is not public information until it is accepted by the commissioners. Today, they have only received it, but they have not accepted it, so it can’t be made available to anyone."

According to Oscarson, the report contains information that is open for interpretation and offers nothing conclusive at this time or until the commissioners act.

"Right now, the report shows the county is in compliance with pay equity," Oscarson said. "We will ask the county’s labor attorney for advice, because the board has merely received the report and not adopted it."

Oscarson did say that it will cost $1 per page to share the information with the public. He said it cost the county $700 to have the hard copy reports prepared for the commissioners.

Both Mower County Attorney Patrick A. Oman and deputy chief prosecutor Glen W. Jacobsen observed the information is part of the public report, because it was presented to the county commissioners at a public meeting.

Richard P. Cummings, First District commissioner, wanted to know: "Did you consider salaries or both salaries and benefits information when you did the study?"

Bjorklund told Cummings that benefits were a part of the study, but for determining the salary range, only base pay figures were used from all public and private sector salary surveys.

Patricia Ball, Mower County court administrator, wanted to know whether the study compared male and female gender jobs and their descriptions as well as pay and benefits.

Bjorklund said he did not look at the data on a gender basis.

The discussion ended with Oscarson reminding all that the county’s current pay levels meets the pay equity guidelines by 8 percentage points (88 vs. the minimum passing standard of 80 percent) and with the adjustments recommended by the consultant that passing grade would climb to 101 percent.