Wayne County Council sets employee raises as 2023 budget work winds down

RICHMOND, Ind. — Wayne County Council members voted to provide county employees an across-the-board 6½% pay raise for 2023. Eventually.

The decision, which followed plenty of discussion and three tie votes, basically completed council's 2023 budget work. Council is scheduled to approve the budget during its 6 p.m. Oct. 19 workshop.

Early during the budgeting process, council forwarded a 5% across-the-board raise as a placeholder while it trimmed departmental budget requests to more closely match expected new monies. The budget now exceeds those monies by $381,264, according to auditor Kimberly Walton, who said the county's financial situation would enable it to absorb that amount.

In recent years at least $500,000 in unspent budgeted money has returned to the general fund each year, Walton said. Council's meticulous budgeting the past four years has added $3 million to the county's cash reserves that would cover a shortfall, if it occurred.

"We're doing very well," Walton said.

As inflation has risen this year, council also received large departmental raise requests — for highway workers, sheriff's staff and court clerks and bailiffs, for example — to better attract and retain employees. Council members throughout the budgeting process, however, decided to treat all county employees equally.

Wednesday's raise discussion created an even split among the six council members present. Cathy Williams, Bob Chamness and Beth Leisure preferred the 6½% raise, while Tony Gillam, Max Smith and Gary Saunders preferred 6%. Rodger Smith could not attend Wednesday's meeting.

In addition, Gillam forwarded the idea that the 6% extra money he favored be split as a 4% pay raise and two 1% stipends paid in January and July. The two stipends would utilize one-time money rather than be budgeted into employee salaries.

Gillam said the stipends would, initially, provide more money right after Christmas, and in the longer run, enable the county to judge the economy while developing the 2024 budget. If inflation hasn't significantly impacted county spending, council can implement raises, but if it has, council has not committed as much ongoing salary money.

"If we do 6% or we do 4% and 1% and 1%, we're paying them the same amount next year," Gillam said, "but we'll know inflation-wise what is going on, and we have a salary study next year."

Max Smith said the stipend solution would protect the county because there would not be as much salary obligation carried into future budgets.

"I'm just really concerned about obligating ourselves," he said.

Others said the straight raise simplifies the entire process for employees and thought employees would rather receive the larger raise. The county's healthy finances offered protection against inflation issues, they said.

"People would rather see it in their paycheck every time than get a stipend," Leisure said. "We should take care of our people."

Williams said the perception is better with a larger raise.

"I think in Wayne County we can weather the storm if it comes to that," she said. "We value our people, and we want to keep them. If we step up and we have to cut back on supplies and other things, we can say, 'We're helping you, now help us and pull in your belt.'"

Chamness preferred the 6½% raise, citing the healthy reserve developed during recent years.

In the first of three tie votes, Williams moved for the 6½% raise, but Gillam, Smith and Saunders opposed. Smith then moved for an additional 6% with the format still to be determined, but Williams, Chamness and Leisure opposed that. Smith then advanced a compromise of 6¼%, but Williams, Chamness and Leisure also opposed that motion.

Gillam said he would go along with 6½%, intending council would then decide whether that would include stipends. However, Williams' motion provided for a 6½% raise for 2023 wages, and all six members voted in favor.

After some discussion about the motion's wording and meaning, the 6½% will be a raise and not include stipends.

"I don't think the majority of us here today want to split it out," Smith said. "I think it should be split, but I'm good to go ahead and get this finished up."

Council also left the judges' request for a court administrator in the budget with intent to request commissioners allocate American Rescue Plan Act money for the position's 2023 and 2024 wages. In addition, council wants ARPA money to pay for the first two years of a grant writer/administrator position requested by commissioners. A two-year evaluation period would determine if the position benefits Wayne County, and ideally, the position would be paying for itself with additional grant income.

Personnel decisions

Sheriff Randy Retter received permission to hire up to 10 part-time jail workers at $30 per hour to alleviate his jail staffing shortage.

"My employees are worn out. They're tired," Retter said about necessary overtime work to fill jail shifts.

Retter said the part-time employees would handle tasks such as booking in inmates, controlling doors and escorting nurses when they distribute medications. Wage money left unspent because of open positions will pay for the part-time employees.

Since Jan. 1, 2021, Retter told council 46 jail employees and eight enforcement employees have left the sheriff's department. He's losing enforcement staff to smaller area agencies that offer similar pay and currently has four enforcement openings, plus one on military leave and another on light duty.

Retter asked council to consider a 10% across-the-board pay increase for his agency. He compared the sheriff's department to a leaking roof, and even displayed a can of roof patch. Retter said that spreading roof patch thinly doesn't work, the hole must be plugged.

"I have to cut services to the county, and I don't want to do that," Retter said. "I can't in good conscience cut services, but I'm going to have to."

Council members also approved the job description for a Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program coordinator and authorized posting the job.

Wayne County expects to begin the HELP program during January 2023 after being selected last year for the third cohort. HELP provides assistance to government entities as the plan how to best utilize ARPA dollars.

For Wayne County, 2023 will be a planning year and 2024 will begin implementation of the resulting projects. The county is committing two years to the coordinator position with a possibility it could be extended. The Office of Community and Rural Affairs will contribute $20,000 to the position's 2023 salary that's currently set at $53,000.

Clerk Debbie Berry received council's support to hire a part-time employee to assist her two criminal case clerks. Berry had originally asked that all of her staff have their work weeks increased from 35½ hours to 40 hours to better handle the work load.

Berry said probate and guardianship cases especially have strained her criminal case clerks and she tries to have others assist them. She said its a stressful situation for her staff.

The 29-hour position, which Berry received permission to hire as soon as possible, would receive about $24,500 during 2023. To pay for the position, Walton found an unused clerk's line item that had been unintentionally left in the budget when another employee retired and was not replaced.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: County Council sets employee raises as 2023 budget work winds down