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6 <br />2 <br />1 Elaine Holmes explained the pay and benefits cost worksheet which is hereby incorporated in <br />2 these minutes by reference. She answered various questions from the County Commissioners. <br />3 Commissioner Gordon asked about meritorious awards and how the funding was estimated. <br />4 Personnel Director Elaine Holmes explained that, for purposes of giving Commissioners' cost <br />5 figures to consider on the spreadsheet in the report, she figured the percentage of employees who <br />6 would fall into the superior range at 17-18% and the exceptional range at 7 percent or about 25% <br />7 percent of employees in total receiving a superior or exceptional award. She said that this keeps in <br />8 place the WPPR but provides a new way to look at the meritorious service awards. <br />9 <br />10 John Link explained his proposal in the recommended budget for 1998-99. Elaine Holmes <br />11 explained salary compression and the impact this has on recruitment and morale. <br />12 <br />John Link said that they are trying to respond to the County Commissioners' concerns. Staff <br />looked at two major issues -one is how do we reward the top 5% of employees. It could be one <br />rating or two separate ratings as Chair Brown has indicated. The most important aspect is to be <br />able to move the majority of the employees up the salary scale as long as they are performing at <br />proficient levels. He feels that Chair Brown's proposal would address these two elements. The <br />meritorious award system would reward those who are exceptional or superior. He emphasized that <br />keeping their WPPR is still very important. With Chair Brown's plan, the compression issue would <br />be addressed with greater speed and he supports that. The plan also adds two new personal leave <br />days. <br />23 Commissioner Halkiotis said that overall he likes what has been presented by Chair Brown. <br />24 He feels that personnel pay plans can get very confusing. He likes this plan because it is simple <br />25 and people can be rewarded for longevity and also it provides a merit plan to reward high achievers. <br />26 He suggested that the Board pursue the COLA option including the market-based pay. <br />27 <br />28 Commissioner Halkiotis suggested that new positions be brought forth in February or March. <br />29 <br />30 Commissioner Carey asked about the 401 K proposal. He feels that the County should <br />31 contribute regardless if it is matching or not. This would benefit those on the lower end of the scale <br />32 who may not be able to contribute. <br />33 <br />34 Commissioner Gordon said that in terms of additions, she feels it would be a good idea to do <br />35 a 401 K and suggested that an equity retention fund could address some of the salaries that are not <br />36 in line. <br />37 <br />38 John Link said that he is developing a plan for those employees who need improvement in <br />39 certain areas. If the department addresses those situations and the employee improves, he will <br />40 not get involved. However, if things do not improve, Commissioner Gordon has suggested that he <br />41 get involved with those situations. <br />42 <br />43 Chair Brown explained the two step plan. The first step would allow all employees to <br />44 progress on the salary scale unless they are rated "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory". The <br />45 meritorious awards would reward those employees who excel and we would develop a recognition <br />46 program for them. John Link said that they would recognize them and talk about what they have <br />47 achieved. He will develop a recognition program for these employees. <br />48 <br />49 Commissioner Carey said that he supports the proposed plan. He commended Chair Brown <br />50 for coming up with this plan. The information was very revealing. He feels we should at least do as <br />51 much for our employees as we do for the school systems <br />