Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@shawanoleader.com
It will be at least one more month before the Carlson Dettman wage study goes to the Shawano County Board of Supervisors.
Representatives from the Madison-based consulting firm presented their wage recommendations Monday to the Administrative Committee, which originally planned to present its recommendation to the County Board on May 28.
Several supervisors, however, had questions about how the consultants determined wages for certain positions, and the committee decided additional meetings were needed before they could recommend the study to the full board.
The county and consultants originally hoped to have the study finalized by March 26.
When determining wage rates, Charlie Carlson, a partner in Carlson Dettman, said the firm looked at how similar positions were paid in both the public and private sectors. Also, he and his staff reviewed the job descriptions provided by the county and established a point system based on the number and level of tasks performed.
Carlson said the firm’s methodology is a “trade secret” and he would need committee members to sign nondisclosure agreements before he could explain the details.
Shawano County’s wages are 4.3 percent below the market average, according to Carlson, when compared with almost two dozen counties in northern and eastern Wisconsin, as well as information from the Wisconsin Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“If it was 10 percent above or below (the market average), I’d be jumping up and down and saying we’ve got a problem,” Carlson said. “This is not bad.”
Carlson Dettman is recommending a plan with 19 pay grades and 11 steps per grade. New employees who perform well could expect annual raises for the first five years, followed by raises every two years for the next six years and then raises every three years after that, Carlson said. The raises would be separate from any cost-of-living increases the County Board might decide to adopt.
If the board decides to have the plan take effect in January 2015, Carlson estimates it will cost the county $240,000 to implement the pay changes for all employees.
Out of 286 employees, 50 are below the minimum salary recommended for their positions, Carlson said.
On the flip side, 22 employees are at or near the maximum recommended pay range. Carlson suggested those employees would not receive any increases beyond cost-of-living.
The study also concluded the county is paying much more than it should by covering 90 percent of the health insurance premiums.
Citing information from the Kaiser Family Foundation, for example, the consultants said Shawano County is paying $1,318 to $2,098 more in premium costs for each single employee per yearthan other government bodies and public and private sector companies with more than 200 employees.
The family insurance plans show an even larger gap, $7,310 to $8,090 per employee per year, according to Carlson Dettman.
Carlson is recommending that the county establish wellness incentives where employees who maintain a healthy lifestyle get 90 percent of the premiums paid. Employees who smoke, don’t exercise or are committed to other other unhealthy lifestyles will only have 80 percent of their premiums covered by the county.
Carlson suggested reducing benefit costs to raise wages to the recommended levels.
Other recommendations from Carlson Dettman include adopting an appeal process once the board adopts the pay plan, conducting an annual review of the pay structure, and reviewing job classifications annually.
Carlson said he was not in favor of rushing the matter to the County Board in May, but he recommended approving a plan before the county’s budget hearings start in August.
“You need a chance to think about it and decide what you want to do,” Carlson said.