County clerk Diana Svanda told the Board of County Commissioners again this week that several departments in the courthouse struggle to hire or retain employees because of the starting pay. The group discussed the starting pay of a recent hire at the county. That starting pay was about four percent higher than the pay scale’s starting pay for that position. Svanda said if the commissioners go through with that onetime higher starting wage, there will be upset county employees.
Last week’s discussion of some county departments’ struggle to hire or retain employees came up again this week when Svanda said the primary reason for hiring issues in the courthouse is the pay. Commissioner Raleigh Ordoyne presented evidence that the reason one county employee left one department was not because of pay but rather because of conflicts with a supervisor.
Ordoyne said he would hate to make a government job pay so well that private businesses can’t hire.
“You have to be fair across the board,” he said.
“At the same time we want quality employees at the county, and we want to retain our employees,” commissioner David Willbrant said.
In other business:
• Marlene Stamm said she has been exceptionally busy this year, and she asked the commissioners to consider allowing her to save the additional money she has brought in this year to put toward a different vehicle several years from now. She said it will take her quite a few years to save up enough money. She drives about 20,000 miles a year as the sanitarian.