Survey compares county employee salaries

Jason E. Silvers/Tribune photo Bourbon County officials listen as Becky Crowder, president of The Austin Peters Group, Inc., of Overland Park, discusses information found in a salary survey the agency recently conducted to compare wages of county employees. Pictured at the Bourbon County Commission meeting are, from left, Jail Administrator Bobby Reed, Undersheriff Ben Cole, Crowder, Southeast Kansas Regional Correctional Center Director of Security Alvin Metcalf,and Sheriff Bill Martin.

Bourbon County Commissioners learned Tuesday through the results of a recent data comparison that Bourbon County is lagging behind several other Kansas counties in terms of county employee salaries.

During their Tuesday meeting, commissioners heard a report from The Austin Peters Group Inc., of Overland Park, which conducted the survey.

The survey measured countywide wages of all positions in Bourbon County and compared them to several other Southeast Kansas counties of the same or equal size as Bourbon County, as well as some cities. Commissioners discussed hours worked by employees and the impact of employee benefits.

Becky Crowder, president of The Austin Peters Group, and Bourbon County Sheriff Bill Martin attended the meeting to discuss the results of the data comparison.

Martin paid for the $3,000 survey out of his department's budget. This is in addition to $175 commissioners have approved to pay for survey work through the Kansas Association of Counties.

Martin said the survey provides a "roadmap to follow" concerning county employees' salaries, which he said should be brought up to rates comparable to other counties.

"This is not a survey for my department. It's for all county employees," Martin said. "It's not for the jail. It encompasses all county employees ... to make sure we're in competition with other county governments."

Martin said since 2013, at least seven Southeast Kansas Correctional Center officers have left their jobs with the county and cited salary and safety as reasons for the employees' departures. In responding to a question from Commission Chair Barbara Albright, Jail Administrator Bobby Reed said the average age of those COs who left the county is 18 to 22 years.

During an April commission meeting, Reed said over the past two years, he has lost 29 employees. Of those, 21 left due to the rate of pay, working conditions and hours.

"Of course we've somewhat corrected that because of passing the jail issue," Martin said. "We are one of the lowest paid counties. This is to see where we're at in Bourbon County."

Crowder said the firm conducted a similar study in 2006 and Bourbon County, among other counties, encountered a "slow down economically during the Great Recession." That original study also included salaries of elected officials. The new survey includes updated information from the county, cities and local businesses to determine what has changed the past 10 years.

"We took all the data for the region we could gather," she said. "There is some city data and several Southeast Kansas counties. Most of the counties we were able to get data from."

Crowder said in looking at the "big picture, all positions are lagging in the market significantly, much more than last time. It's at about 40 percent of the market."

Some discussion centered around comparison of average wages of certain employees with other counties. Crowder said the actual wage for the county appraiser is $29.42 hourly while the average hourly wage for that position according to survey data is $30.37 per hour.

"So competitors pay 3 percent more than Bourbon County does," Crowder said. "Some positions are OK, some are way behind."

Crowder said the salary for a janitor or maintenance position in Bourbon County "is in good shape" and "paying what the market's paying."

"So we should be less on benefits and up on salary?" Albright asked.

The survey did not take into account benefits received by employees.

"The benefits are misleading," Albright said. "Benefits are very generous. Bourbon County is known for its good benefits."

Martin said while he agreed the benefits are a positive, "sometimes insurance doesn't pay for food on the table." He asked commissioners to consider the survey as county departments begin turning in their budget requests for 2016, as well as raises department heads will ask for.

"As we're getting into budget meetings, a lot of departments will be requesting pay raises. This gives a glimpse of salaries," he said.

The survey includes the area immediately surrounding Bourbon County and also entities similar to Bourbon County. By doing so, the county could gain information about entities or businesses that are drawing employees away from the county, Martin has said.

Crowder said a possible next step would be to conduct a benefit comparison and get an estimate of benefits related to the market. She said there would be no cost involved with getting these figures through the KAC, which she said could be done this week and presented to the commissioners next week.

In looking at the survey results, Martin said salaries for some public works employees in Bourbon County are 70 percent below the average according to the data provided. A majority of positions in the county were below average, he said.