Report on county employees’ salaries officially released

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 21, 2000

A report on Mower County employees’ salaries has been released.

Tuesday, March 21, 2000

A report on Mower County employees’ salaries has been released.

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When the county commissioners received the Classification and Compensation Study Final Report two weeks ago, they took it under advisement, but kept the contents semi-confidential.

Even though Bob Bjorklund, the consultant retained by the county to study comparable worth among the county’s employees, had announced his findings at a public meeting, the written report was kept confidential.

Now, it is confidential no more and its contents are being examined by both employer and employees.

On March 28, the county board is expected to announce its own findings and to implement pay adjustments.

However, the county’s pay schedule falls within the guidelines for pay equity, so no adjustments absolutely have to be made.

County Coordinator Craig Oscarson made that clear from the outset, when Bjorklund shared the results of his study with the county commissioners.

"Right now," Oscarson said, "we’re within the pay equity guidelines."

Al Cordes, the county’s human resource director, agreed.

"Yes," Cordes said, "we are within the pay equity guidelines."

According to Cordes, when people read the report and see that Mower County wages for a certain job may be higher or lower in the market wage study, that must be taken with a grain of salt.

"Using all those factors, all the surveys from the other counties and cities, the private sector and other places, the market wage takes into consideration a wide range of compensation from a variety of sources," Cordes said.

While Mower County does indeed satisfy the intent of pay equity laws with its current compensation schedule, the Eden Prairie consultant did recommend revisions to the county’s job evaluation system, new classifications and a new compensation plan.

"Overall, the current system appears reliable," Bjorklund said.

But Bjorklund did see the need to recommend the county board adjust employees’ salaries by 7.2 percent.

Bjorklund concluded the county’s salary minimums – on average – are about 8.36 percent below average market pay minimums. Also on average, the county’s average pay rates are about 8.52 percent below the average pay levels found in the market. Finally, the county’s salary range maximums are 20 percent below the average market maximums.

Part of his reasoning was based on a salary survey using 26 benchmark positions.

Bjorklund compared 26 jobs with their counterparts in Fillmore, Freeborn, Olmsted, Dodge, Winona and Blue Earth counties in Minnesota and Cerro Gordo County in Iowa. In addition, the cities of Austin, Faribault and Owatonna own pay schedules for the benchmark jobs, plus four other compensation surveys were used.

A job evaluation system that rates seven factors, including know-how, experience, contacts with others, scope of decision-making , nature of supervision, working conditions and effect of errors also were stirred into the mix.

When the results were computed, Mower County’s pay for each benchmark job, here were some of the comparisons: (Mower County pay listed first, market average next): county engineer, $63,694, $65,445; child support officer, $27,839, $29,686; heavy equipment operator, $30,420, $30,703; deputy sheriff, $31,333, $38,136; human resource director, $53,000, $52,081; home health aide: $24,734, $18,240; social worker, $32,273, $36,814; appraiser, $25,476, $34,763; office support assistant: $23,631, $23,590.

The average different between Mower County’s pay to the market average starting pay was 8.24 percent lower; the difference between the average market salary and Mower County’s was 7.61 percent; and the difference between the average market maximum and the county’s was 11.35 percent.

Thus, the market – employers everywhere – are paying more for people in the benchmark jobs both in starting salary, average salary and maximum salary, than is Mower County.

The county board’s personnel committee of Commissioners Dave Hillier, Third District, and Len Miller, Fourth District, will make a recommendation to the county board March 28.