[Additional item]
[00:00:03]
WELCOME, EVERYONE. WE HAVE A LITTLE. LITTLE BIT OF BUSINESS TO DO BEFORE WE CALL TO ORDER THE AUGUST MEETING OF THE QUORUM COURT. SO IS MS. LEDBETTER HERE? YOU WANT TO COME FORWARD? SHE'S EVEN WEARING HER PULASKI COUNTY SHIRT TONIGHT [LAUGHTER].
STAND NEXT TO ME. SO, SO ARE YOU GOING TO WEAR IT WHEN YOU'RE TAKING THAT CRUISE TO EUROPE? I PROBABLY WEAR COME ON YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO COME OFF OF THAT NEW CLOTHES TIME [LAUGHTER]. SO WHEREAS MRS. TARAR LEDBETTER BEGAN HER DISTINGUISHED SERVICE WITH PULASKI COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN OCTOBER 1982.
AND WHEREAS, MRS. LEDBETTER HAS HELD VARIOUS POSITIONS WITHIN PULASKI COUNTY GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING DEPUTY CLERK, SUPERVISOR IN THE COUNTY CLERK CIRCUIT CLERK'S OFFICE AND INTAKE OFFICER FOR THE CIRCUIT COURTS MENTAL HEALTH DIVISION.
AND WHEREAS, MRS. LEDBETTER COLLABORATED WITH JUDGES, ATTORNEYS, HOSPITAL STAFF, DOCTORS, THERAPISTS, FAMILIES, LAW ENFORCEMENT CLIENTS, AND PATIENTS ACROSS THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, AND HER MOST RECENT IMPORTANT ROLE WITH THE MENTAL HEALTH COURT.
AND WHEREAS MRS. LEDBETTER OFTEN REFLECTS ON HER CAREER JOURNEY, BEGINNING WITH REGISTERING VOTERS, THEN ISSUING MARRIAGE LICENSES, THEN PROCESSING DIVORCES AND CHILD SUPPORT AND LASTLY [LAUGHTER].
YOU'VE BEEN AROUND, YOU'VE BEEN AROUND [LAUGHTER].
AND LASTLY, HELPING INDIVIDUALS RECEIVE ASSISTANCE FOR MENTAL ILLNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS.
AND WHEREAS MRS. LEDBETTER IS A DEVOTED MEMBER OF PILGRIM REST MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, NUMBER 4 IN COLLEGE STATION, ARKANSAS. IS ANYBODY HERE? ARE YOU IN THE HOUSE? ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT. MRS. WHEREAS MRS. LEDBETTER MARRIED HER BEST FRIEND, TRAVEL COMPANION, AND THE LOVE OF HER LIFE, JOE NO [LAUGHTER].
DESY LEDBETTER ON HER BIRTHDAY, OCTOBER 18TH, IN 2003, AFTER HAVING FIRST MET HIM AT THE AGE OF 13.
IT TOOK A WHILE FOR YOU TO STICK [LAUGHTER]. AND WHEREAS MRS. LEDBETTER IS THE PROUD MOTHER OF FIVE DAUGHTERS AND GRANDMOTHER OF SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN, AND WHEREAS MRS. LEDBETTER PLANS TO TRAVEL UPON RETIREMENT, BEGINNING WITH THE CRUISE THROUGH EUROPE, WEARING ALL THE PULASKI COUNTY PARAPHERNALIA THAT SHE'S GOT [LAUGHTER].
THANK YOU FOR THAT. GOT TO REPRESENT AND WHEREAS, WE NEED TO REPRESENT [LAUGHTER].
AND WHEREAS PULASKI COUNTY PROUDLY RECOGNIZES AND HONORS MRS. LEDBETTER FOR HER, OVER 4 DECADES OF EXEMPLARY SERVICE TO PULASKI COUNTY AND THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND EXTENDS HEARTFELT WISHES TO MRS. LEDBETTER OR A JOYFUL AND FULFILLING RETIREMENT.
NOW, THEREFORE, PURSUANT TO THE MOTION OF PULASKI COUNTY JUDGE BARRY HYDE, THE COUNTY OF PULASKI HEREBY HONORS MRS. TARAR LEDBETTER FOR HER 43 YEARS SERVICE TO PULASKI COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND ITS CITIZENS [APPLAUSE].
THANK YOU SO MUCH. WHAT A WONDERFUL PERSON [APPLAUSE].
CONGRATULATIONS, WE LOVE YOU. AND IF YOU NEED US, CALL US.
THERE ARE 28, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM THERE'S MANY WOMEN LEFT OVER WHAT'D YOU
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WANT TO CALL TO ORDER THE AUGUST MEETING OF PULASKI COUNTY QUORUM COURT.[1. CALL TO ORDER ]
WELCOME ALL OF OUR GUESTS AND OUR EMPLOYEES WHO'VE COME OUT TONIGHT FOR THE MEETING, ESPECIALLY OUR DIRECTORS, MY FELLOW ELECTED OFFICIALS. THANK YOU. JUSTICE WARD IS GOING TO LEAD US IN AN INVOCATION, AND THEN JUSTICE BLACKWOOD IS GOING TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.SO IF YOU CAN'T STAND, PLEASE DO. PLEASE BOW YOUR HEADS.
FATHER GOD, WE JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU. GOD WE THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR ENTRUSTING US FOR LEADING PULASKI COUNTY.
GOD CONTINUE TO GUIDE US, LEAD US AND STRENGTHEN US AND GIVE US YOUR INTEGRITY GOD TO LEAD THE COUNTY IN ALL THE DUTIES THAT IS NEEDED. GOD, WATCH OVER US.
PROTECT US. THANK US. THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING US SERVANT'S HEART.
GOD, TO GIVE OF YOUR TIME AND OF YOUR SERVICE GOD.
FOR WE KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT AN EASY TASK, BUT WE THANK YOU, GOD, FOR GRANTING US THE WISDOM AND THE KNOW HOW TO BE, TO SHOW, TO INTEGRITY AND TO BE HONEST, TO DO THE WORK FOR YOU, GOD.
FOR IT'S UNTO YOU THAT WE GIVE OF OUR SERVICE, OUR TIME.
AND GOD WE THANK YOU THAT YOU CONTINUE TO WATCH OVER US.
IN JESUS NAME, AMEN. AMEN. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
MADAM CLERK, WHEN ARE YOU READY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? MS. DAVIS. HERE.
MS. BLACKWOOD. HERE. MR. PERSON. PRESENT. MS. MASSEY. HERE. MS. CURRY. PRESENT. MR. KEITH. HERE.
MS. WARD. HERE. MS. YOUNG-BAKER. HERE. MS. ROBINSON.
HERE. MR. MCCOY. HERE. MR. STOWERS. PRESENT. MR. ELLIOTT. HERE.
THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK. AND MEMBERS IN YOUR PACKAGE THIS WEEK.
[5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING.SO WHEN YOU'RE READY, I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION TO ADOPT.
SO MOVE. SECOND. HEARD THE MOTION. YOU'VE HEARD THE SECOND.
ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS FROM THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING? THERE BEING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTION INDICATE SO BY SAYING AYE.
[6. COMMITTEE REPORT: Agenda Committee ]
AUGUST 26TH, 2025, TO THE PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE PULASKI COUNTY QUORUM COURT.WE YOUR COMMITTEE OF THE AGENDA TO WHOM WAS REFERRED ITEMS 25-I-52, 25-I-54, 25-I-56 BEG LEAVE TO REPORT THAT WE'VE HAD THE SAME UNDER CONSIDERATION AND HEREWITH RETURN THE SAME WITH A RECOMMENDATION OF DO PASS RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED CURTIS A.
KEITH CHAIR. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK, AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY UNFINISHED BUSINESS I THINK.
SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO NEW BUSINESS. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE READ FOR US RESOLUTION 25-I-53.
[25-I-53 A RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE THE ARKANSAS 250 COMMISSION AS IT BEGINS ITS WORK TO CELEBRATE ARKANSAS’S RICH TWO-HUNDREDFIFTY-YEAR HISTORY FROM THE SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ON JULY 4, 1776, THROUGH JULY 4, 2026. ]
CERTAINLY A RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE THE ARKANSAS 250 COMMISSION AS IT BEGINS ITS WORK TO CELEBRATE ARKANSAS'S RICH 250-YEAR HISTORY FROM THE SIGNING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ON JULY 4TH, 1776 THROUGH JULY 4TH, 2026.JUSTICE CAPPS YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR THE MOTION.
MOVE THE ADOPTION SECOND. SECOND. MEMBERS YOU'VE HEARD THE MOTION.
YOU'VE HEARD THE SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION OR QUESTIONS REGARDING RESOLUTION 25-I-53? THERE BEING NONE. MADAM CLERK, CALL THE ROLL FOR THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 25-I-53.
MS. MEDLOCK. AYE. MR. ELLIOTT. YES. MR. STOWERS.
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YES. MR. KEITH AYE. MS. MASSEY. AYE. MR. PERSON. YES. MS. BLACKWOOD.AYE. MS. LEWISON. YES. MS. CAPPS. AYE. MS. DAVIS.
YES. 15 AYES, 0 NAYS. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK.
[25-I-55 A RESOLUTION OF THE QUORUM COURT OF PULASKI COUNTY CONFIRMING THE APPOINTMENT OF MRS. BOBBI S. MCDANIEL TO THE PULASKI COUNTY PLANNING BOARD FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE JUNE 30, 2028. ]
A RESOLUTION OF THE QUORUM COURT OF PULASKI COUNTY, CONFIRMING THE APPOINTMENT OF MRS. BOBBI S. MCDANIEL TO THE PULASKI COUNTY PLANNING BOARD FOR A TERM TO EXPIRE JUNE 30TH, 2028.JUSTICE DAVIS YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR THE MOTION.
I MOVE FOR THE ADOPTION. SECOND. MEMBERS YOU'VE HEARD THE MOTION.
YOU'VE HEARD THE SECOND. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING RESOLUTION 25-I-55? MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL THERE BEING NONE FOR THE ADOPTION OF 25-I-55.
MS. DAVIS. YES. MS. CAPPS. AYE. MS. LEWIS. YES.
I'M SORRY, MS. LEWISON [LAUGHTER]. YES, YES MS. BLACKWOOD. AYE. MR. PERSON. YES. MS. MASSEY.
AYE. MS. CURRY. AYE. MR. KEITH. YES. MS. WARD.
YES. MS. YOUNG-BAKER. YES. MR. ROBINSON. AYE.
MR. MCCOY. YES. MR. STOWERS. YES. MR. ELLIOTT.
YES. MS. MEDLOCK. AYE. 15 AYES, 0 NAYS. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK.
JUSTICE DAVIS, YOU PASSED YOUR RESOLUTION. MADAM CLERK, PLEASE READ FOR US NOW RESOLUTION 25-I-58.
[25-I-58 A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE ENACTMENT AND EXECUTION OF THE CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION, “THE JOHN R. LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT” AND “FREEDOM TO VOTE ACT.” ]
A RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT THE ENACTMENT AND EXECUTION OF THE CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION, THE JOHN R LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ACT, ADVANCEMENT ACT AND FREEDOM TO VOTE ACT. JUSTICE MASSEY YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR THE MOTION.YES, I MOVE FOR THE ADOPTION. SECOND. SECOND.
MEMBERS YOU'VE HEARD THE MOTION. YOU'VE HEARD THE SECOND. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS REGARDING 25-I-58? YES I BELIEVE I'M A CO-SPONSOR ON THAT AS WELL, BUT IT'S NOT LISTED, BUT I AM.
WE'LL FIND OUT WHO FILLS THESE OUT AND MAKE SURE THEY GET YOUR NAME ON THERE.
PRECIATE THAT. WE CAN DO IT THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? THERE BEING NONE. MADAM CLERK, CALL THE ROLL FOR THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 25-I-58.
MS. MEDLOCK. AYE. MR. ELLIOTT. YES. MR. STOWERS.
YES. MR. MCCOY. PRESENT. MR. ROBINSON. AYE. MS. YOUNG-BAKER. AYE. MS. WARD. YES. MR. KEITH. YES.
MS. CURRY. AYE. MS. MASSEY. AYE. MR. PERSON. YES.
MS. BLACKWOOD. YES, YES. MS. LEWISON. YES, YES.
MS. CAPPS. AYE. MS. DAVIS. YES. 14 AYES, 1 PRESENT.
THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK. JUSTICE MASSEY CONGRATULATIONS YOU PASSED YOUR RESOLUTION.
MADAM CLERK, PLEASE READ FOR US NOW RESOLUTION 25-I-59.
[25-I-59 A RESOLUTION OF THE QUORUM COURT OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS, SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARKANSAS GOLF HOUSE PROJECT AT NORTHSHORE BUSINESS PARK AND AFFIRMING ITS ALIGNMENT WITH THE STATEWIDE COMPREHENSIVE OUTDOOR RECREATION PLAN (SCORP) 2025-2030. ]
A RESOLUTION OF THE QUORUM COURT OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS, SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARKANSAS GOLF HOUSE PROJECT AT NORTHSHORE BUSINESS PARK AND AFFIRMING ITS ALIGNMENT WITH THE STATEWIDE COMPREHENSIVE OUTDOOR RECREATION PLAN.I GUESS THE SCORP IN PARENTHESIS 2025 TO 2030.
JUSTICE ELLIOT YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR THE MOTION. MOVE FOR ADOPTION.
SECOND. MEMBERS YOU HEARD THE MOTION. YOU HEARD THE SECOND.
DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING RESOLUTION 25-I-59.
MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL FOR THE ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION 25-I-59.
MS. DAVIS. YES. MS. CAPPS. AYE. MS. LEWISON. YES.
MS. BLACKWOOD. AYE. MR. PERSON. YES. MS. MASSEY.
AYE. MS. CURRY. AYE. MR. KEITH. YES. MS. WARD.
YES. YOUNG-BAKER. YES. MR. ROBINSON. AYE. MR. MCCOY. YES. MR. STOWERS. YES. MR. ELLIOTT. YES.
MADAM CLERK WHEN YOU'RE READY, PLEASE READ FOR US NOW ORDINANCE NUMBER 25-I-52.
[25-I-52 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 24-OR-41 (2025 ANNUAL BUDGET, PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS) TO RECOGNIZE AND APPROPRIATE STATE CASA GRANT FUNDS FOR THE COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES (CASA) DEPARTMENT. ]
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 24-OR-41 2025, ANNUAL BUDGET, PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS, TO RECOGNIZE AND APPROPRIATE STATE CASA GRANT FUNDS FOR THE COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES.CASA DEPARTMENT. JUSTICE DAVIS, YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR THE MOTION.
I MOVE FOR THE ADOPTION. SECOND. MEMBERS YOU'VE HEARD THE MOTION.
[00:15:02]
YOU'VE HEARD THE SECOND. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING ORDINANCE 25-I-52? THERE BEING NONE. MADAM CLERK, CALL THE ROLL FOR THE ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 25-I-52.MS. MEDLOCK. AYE. MR. ELLIOTT. YES. MR. STOWERS.
YES. MR. MCCOY. YES. MR. ROBINSON. AYE. MS. YOUNG-BAKER.
AYE. MS. WARD. YES. MR. KEITH. YES. MS. CURRY.
AYE. MS. MASSEY. AYE. MR. PARSON. YES. MS. BLACKWOOD.
AYE. MS. LEWISON. YES. MS. CAPPS. AYE. MS. DAVIS.
YES. 15 AYES. 0 NAYS. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK.
JUSTICE DAVIS, CONGRATULATIONS ON PASSING YOUR ORDINANCE.
MADAM CLERK WHEN YOU'RE READY, READ FOR US, PLEASE ORDINANCE 25-I-54.
[25-I-54 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 24-OR-41 (2025 ANNUAL BUDGET, PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS) TO RECOGNIZE AND APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE ASSESSOR’S OFFICE. ]
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 24-OR-41 2025, ANNUAL BUDGET PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS.TO RECOGNIZE AND APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR THE ASSESSOR'S OFFICE.
JUSTICE BLACKWOOD YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR THE MOTION.
MOVE FOR THE ADOPTION. SECOND. MEMBERS YOU'VE HEARD THE MOTION.
YOU'VE HEARD THE SECOND. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING ORDINANCE 25-I-54.
MADAM CLERK, THERE BEING NONE, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL FOR THE ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 25-I-54, MS. DAVIS. YES. MS. CAPPS. AYE. LEWISON. YES.
MS. BLACKWOOD. AYE. MR. PERSON. YES. MS. MASSEY.
AYE. MS. CURRY. AYE. MR. KEITH. YES. MS. WARD.
YES. MS. YOUNG-BAKER. YES. MR. ROBINSON. AYE.
MR. MCCOY. YES. MR. STOWERS. YES. MR. ELLIOTT.
YES. MS. MEDLOCK. AYE. 15 AYES, 0 NAYS. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK.
JUSTICE BLACKWOOD YOU PASSED YOUR ORDINANCE 25-I-54.
AND NOW, MADAM CLERK, REINFORCE OUR LAST ORDINANCE 25-I-56.
[25-I-56 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 24-OR-41 (2025 ANNUAL BUDGET, PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS) TO APPROPRIATE CONTINGENCY FUNDS (FUND 1807) FOR ONE-TIME EXPENSES FOR BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS AT THE PULASKI COUNTY REGIONAL DETENTION FACILITY. ]
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 24-OR-41 2025 ANNUAL BUDGET, PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS, TO RECOGNIZE AN APPROPRIATE CONTINGENCY FUNDS. FUND 1807 AND FOR ONE TIME EXPENSES FOR BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS AT THE PULASKI COUNTY REGIONAL DETENTION FACILITY.JUSTICE MASSEY YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR THE MOTION.
YES I MOVE FOR THE ADOPTION. SECOND. MEMBERS YOU HEARD THE MOTION.
YOU HEARD THE SECOND. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS REGARDING ORDINANCE 25-I-56.
THERE BEING NONE MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL FOR THE ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE 25-I-56.
CERTAINLY, MS. MEDLOCK. AYE. MR. ELLIOTT. YES.
MR. STOWERS. YES. MR. MCCOY. YES. MR. ROBINSON.
PRESENT. PRESENT MS. WARD. YES. MR. KEITH. YES. MS. CURRY. AYE.
MS. MASSEY. AYE. MR. PERSON. YES. MS. BLACKWOOD.
AYE. MS. LEWISON. YES. MS. CAPPS. AYE. MS. DAVIS.
YES. 14 AYES, 1 PRESENT, 0 NAYS. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK.
NO? OKAY, ALL RIGHT [LAUGHTER]. OKAY. I THOUGHT I HAD A SHOT THERE.
SO I COME BACK NOW TO ITEM 7 ON THE AGENDA, THE SALARY STUDY PRESENTATION.
[7. SALARY STUDY PRESENTATION: Ms. Victoria McGrath, McGrath Human Resources Group ]
MS. VICTORIA MCGRATH IS GOING TO GIVE THAT. I THINK THERE'S SOME SLIDES YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AND THEN YOU HAVE A PACKET.AND SO JUST AS A SUGGESTION TO THE COURT YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GOING TO FIND A LOT OF INFORMATION IN THAT IN THAT REPORT AND YOU'RE GOING TO FIND A LOT OF INFORMATION IN THESE SLIDES THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE.
AND SO I'M GOING TO SUGGEST AND I THINK OUR PRESENTATION IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE 30 MINUTES ANYWAYS.
AND SO I'M GOING TO SUGGEST THAT IT THAT YOU MIGHT CONSIDER AFTER THIS PRESENTATION TAKING THE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO STUDY ALL THIS MATERIAL THAT YOU HAVE, FIGURE OUT WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE, WHAT COMMENTS YOU HAVE.
AND THEN TAKE IT UP IN YOUR AGENDA MEETING TO START FIGURING OUT WHAT YOU ALL WANT TO DO.
THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS, I THINK, IS HOPEFULLY SOMEONE WILL BRING AN ORDINANCE TO ACCEPT THE SALARY SCALES, THE TABLE, IF YOU WILL. WHICH IS JUST YOU'RE JUST ACCEPT GOING TO BE ACCEPTING WHAT YOU'VE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR.
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BUT IT MAY BE IN THE SECOND ONE THAT YOU BEGIN TAKING UP THE QUESTION OF THE BENEFITS PACKAGE THAT WE OFFER TO OUR EMPLOYEES.AND BY THAT TIME, MR. HUTCHENS WILL HAVE FOR YOU COST OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS THAT ARE CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT, SO YOU CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS. AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THERE'S SOME POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I, THAT THAT WON'T REALLY BE SENSITIVE TO A GREAT EXTENT IN YOUR BUDGET CYCLE, AND YOU CAN TAKE THOSE UP IN OCTOBER WHENEVER YOU KNOW YOU COME TO IT AND BEGIN TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THOSE.
THAT'S A SUGGESTION ON HOW YOU MIGHT CHOP THIS ELEPHANT UP AND EAT IT ONE BITE AT A TIME.
AND INTERESTING STUFF, IN MY OPINION, IT HAS BEEN FOR ME.
BUT THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF INFORMATION IN THERE.
YES, AND YES THANK YOU I'M CEO OF MCGRATH HUMAN RESOURCES GROUP. WE'RE A COMPANY THAT WAS FORMED IN THE YEAR 2000.
SO THIS YEAR, WE'RE CELEBRATING OUR 25TH ANNIVERSARY IN BUSINESS.
AND THAT'S HEADED UP BY THE OTHER DOCTOR MCGRATH.
WE DO POLICE, FIRE, EMS AND DISPATCH CONSULTING FROM THE COUNTY LEVEL ON DOWN.
WE DO HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTING FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR FROM THE COUNTY LEVEL ON DOWN, AND WE SPECIALIZE IN ALL POSITIONS WITHIN THE COUNTY, NOT JUST PUBLIC SAFETY. WE DO SPECIALIZE IN COMPENSATION STUDIES.
THAT'S OUR BREAD AND BUTTER. IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'LL DO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT, EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS, JOB DESCRIPTIONS, ALL THE THINGS THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM DREAD, BUT SOME OF US ACTUALLY SELL, SALIVATE OVER. SO WITH THAT. SO NEXT, PLEASE.
OUR METHODOLOGY, THIS WAS A VERY INTERESTING STUDY.
WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE? WHY WERE WE DOING THIS? AND THEN WE COLLECTED DATA ON YOUR CURRENT COMPENSATION SYSTEM, WHICH WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT, BECAUSE THERE'S DEFINITELY SOME ISSUES THERE WITH YOUR CURRENT COMPENSATION SYSTEM.
IN MOST STUDIES WE WILL DO SOMETHING CALLED A POSITION QUESTIONNAIRE.
AND IF YOU EVER HAVE INSOMNIA, I [LAUGHTER] BRING THEM OUT.
TAKE A COUPLE OF THEM. YOU'LL BE ASLEEP IN MINUTES.
WE SOLICITED DATA, WHICH WE WILL TALK ABOUT FROM A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS.
WHEN WE DO THAT, WE COLLECT THEIR SALARY SCHEDULES.
SO WE LOOK AT THE MINIMUM, THE MIDPOINT AND THE MAXIMUM.
WE THEN DEVELOPED A DRAFT COMPENSATION SCHEDULE, WHICH WE WILL TALK ABOUT.
WE REVIEWED THAT WITH HUMAN RESOURCES, AND THEN WE ALSO REVIEWED THAT WITH EVERY DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR HERE WITHIN THE COUNTY, WHETHER THEY ARE APPOINTED OR ELECTED, AND MADE APPROPRIATE CHANGES AS NEEDED.
WE DID COLLECT INFORMATION ON BENEFITS. WE WILL NOT BE GOING OVER THAT TONIGHT.
BENEFITS ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO CHANGE.
AND SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS NEED TO BE REVIEWED BY THE COUNTY TO SERVE.
ARE THEY ARE THEY APPROPRIATE FOR YOU? AS WELL AS WITH YOUR BENEFITS BROKERS.
BUT THEY CAN LOOK AT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, SAY, WELL THAT WORK FOR YOU OR NOT.
NEXT PLEASE. BEFORE WE GET INTO THE DATA, WHAT I DO WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT IS ABOUT THE COUNTY.
IT ALSO TELLS US A DIRECTION IN WHICH TO GO TO WITH A COMPENSATION SCHEDULE.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS I REALLY WANT TO NOTE IS THAT RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE 39% OF YOUR WORKFORCE, WHICH IS UNDER THE AGE OF 40. THAT MEANS YOU HAVE A PRETTY YOUNG WORKFORCE AND THAT'S THE WORKFORCE.
IF I'M GOING TO BE VERY STEREOTYPICAL, THAT'S THE WORKFORCE THAT USUALLY DOESN'T STAY.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY CLIENTS A YEAR AGO CALLED THEM THE SHINY OBJECT DEGENERATION.
AND SO YOU'VE GOT A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF YOUR EMPLOYEES THAT ARE IN THAT CLASSIFICATION.
[00:25:06]
AND THE QUESTION IS GOING TO BE, NOW THAT YOU GOT THEM IN THE DOOR, AND NOW THAT YOU'VE TRAINED THEM, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO KEEP THEM? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY TURNOVER IS VERY COSTLY.AND YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO DO THAT BECAUSE YOU ALSO HAVE 38% OF YOUR WORKFORCE.
YES. OBVIOUSLY, YOU'VE HONORED ONE TONIGHT. I DO NEED TO OBVIOUSLY TALK TO HUMAN RESOURCES ABOUT THEIR HIRING PRACTICES, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY YOU HIRED THAT WOMAN WHEN SHE WAS FIVE YEARS OLD [LAUGHTER].
BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY THAT SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE'S BEEN WORKING HERE FOR 40 SOME YEARS.
SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE 39% THAT'S UNDER THE AGE OF 40 AND THE 46% THAT ARE STUFFED IN BETWEEN? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO KEEP THEM HERE? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO FOR THEIR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT? AND SO A LOT OF THIS COMPENSATION STUDY HAD TO REALLY LOOK AT NOT ONLY YOUR RECRUITMENT BUT ALSO YOUR RETENTION.
AND THAT IS A BIG ISSUE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ADDRESS IN THIS STUDY.
NEXT PLEASE. WE DID COLLECT DATA [LAUGHTER]. WE DID COLLECT A LITTLE HARD TO READ, BUT WE DID TALK WITH THE COUNTY AS TO WHAT OUR SURROUNDING LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES THAT YOU EITHER ARE COMPETING WITH OR THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECRUIT FROM, OR YOU MIGHT BE LOSING PEOPLE TO. AND THIS LIST WAS DEVELOPED.
THAT'S THE GROUP THAT WE COLLECTED DATA FROM.
AND WE BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY YEAH, EVERYBODY DID PARTICIPATE.
SO WE DID VERY GOOD IN THAT. AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET DATA FOR EVERY POSITION.
BUT WE DID GET A REALLY GOOD DATA SET. NEXT PLEASE.
WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT DATA, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IS TWO THINGS.
WHEN WE'RE DOING THE DATA ANALYSIS, WHAT WE WILL DO IS I HAVE A PROPRIETARY FORMULA THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED WITH A COMPENSATION ASSOCIATION THAT ELIMINATES OUTLIERS, BECAUSE WHAT WE REALLY DID WANT TO LOOK AT A TRUE AVERAGE.
SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT EACH POSITION AND WITH THE COMPARABLE DATA THAT WE WERE ABLE TO RECEIVE, WE WERE ABLE TO ELIMINATE THROUGH THIS FORMULA ANYTHING THAT'S TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW.
MY SAYING FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS, AND THIS IS NOT A REFLECTION ON YOU, IS THAT ELECTED OFFICIALS WANT ME TO PUT ALL THE LOW PAYING MUNICIPALITIES IN, AND EMPLOYEES WANT ME TO PUT ALL THE HIGH PAYING MUNICIPALITIES IN, AND I DON'T MAKE EITHER ONE OF YOU HAPPY.
SO WE ARE GOING TO ELIMINATE THOSE SO THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT A TRUE AVERAGE.
WE THEN COMPARE THAT AVERAGE TO YOUR COMPENSATION SCHEDULE OR TO WHAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY MAKE.
AND WHAT WE USE IS SOMETHING CALLED A COMPA-RATIO.
AND IF THE NUMBER IS 45% OR ABOVE, IT MEANS IT'S PAID OKAY.
AND WE USE THAT COMPA-RATIO BECAUSE WE CAN NEVER COME UP WITH THE SAME EXACT NUMBER.
SO IF I'M MAKING $25,000 AND THE AVERAGE MARKET RATE IS $24,300, THEY GO AHA! YOU'RE NOT PAYING ME ENOUGH OR YOU'RE PAYING ME TOO LITTLE. AND SO THIS WAY WE USE A RATIO.
NEXT PLEASE SO WHAT WE LOOKED AT IS YOUR MINIMUM AND WE COMPARED IT TO BENCHMARK POSITIONS WHAT THEIR AVERAGE MARKET MINIMUM IS.
AND BASICALLY WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT 68% OF YOUR BENCHMARK POSITIONS HAVE A STARTING SALARY THAT IS LOWER THAN THE AVERAGE MARKET MINIMUM AND THEREFORE NEEDS TO HAVE ADJUSTMENT.
THEY'RE NOT BEING HIRED AT THE MINIMUM. THE ARGUMENT BEING THAT OUR MINIMUM IS NOT COMPETITIVE ENOUGH TO BRING PEOPLE IN THROUGH THE DOOR, AND THE DATA DEFINITELY PROVES THAT. NOW, YOU DO HAVE SOME POSITIONS THAT ARE ALIGNED WITH THE MARKET, AND THERE ISN'T THAT SIGNIFICANT A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT THEY WERE BEING PAID UNDER THE CURRENT SALARY SCHEDULE AND WHAT'S BEING RECOMMENDED.
THANKS, THANK YOU YOUR SCHEDULE STOPS AT THE MIDPOINT, EVEN THOUGH YOU DO HAVE A DEFINED SCHEDULE, WHICH WE'LL TALK ABOUT IN A MINUTE.
WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE MARKET RATE MEAN? AVERAGE MARKET RATE MEANS IT'S SOMEPLACE IN YOUR SALARY RANGE THAT YOU SHOULD GET TO, TYPICALLY WITHIN 3 TO 5, 4 TO 7 YEARS, BECAUSE YOU ARE NOW FULLY CAPABLE AND COMPETENT OF DOING THE JOB.
[00:30:05]
THAT'S WHAT SHOULD BE YOUR GOAL. THERE'S USUALLY A RANGE BETWEEN THAT, THE MINIMUM AND THE MARKET RATE BECAUSE IT ALLOWS YOU SOME HIRING FLEXIBILITY.YOU SHOULD BE HIRING PEOPLE WHO JUST HAVE THE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE FOR THE JOB AT THE MINIMUM, AND THEY SHOULD BE PROGRESSING THEMSELVES TO THAT MARKET RATE.
AS THEY LEARN THE JOB, THEY LEARN THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION, THEY LEARN THE NUANCES OF IT, AND THEY SHOULD GET THERE. THE PROBLEM IS YOU STOP THERE.
SO WHEN YOU DO THE NEXT COMPARISON, PLEASE THAT TO THE AVERAGE MAXIMUMS OF THE SALARY SCHEDULE.
86% OF YOUR MAXIMUMS ARE BELOW THE AVERAGE MARKET RATE.
SO NOT ONLY [LAUGHTER] IS YOUR MARKET RATE BELOW THE AVERAGE MARKET, PEOPLE HAVE A HIGHER EARNING POTENTIAL IF THEY GO TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE THERE'S THE ENTIRE SALARY RANGE TO USE.
AND SO NOT ONLY IS YOUR MARKET BELOW AVERAGE, BUT IT'S ALSO YOUR STOPPING POINT.
AND REALLY KIND OF SAYING, WHY SHOULD I BOTHER STAYING HERE? WHEN I CAN GO SOMEPLACE ELSE AND EARN MORE MONEY.
NEXT, PLEASE. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE LOOK AT INCUMBENT SALARY.
AND COMPARE THAT TO THE AVERAGE. WHAT PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY MAKING.
OBVIOUSLY, WE USE AN AVERAGE. YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE SHERIFF'S DEPUTY.
AND SO WE TAKE THE AVERAGE OF THAT GROUP COMPARED TO THE AVERAGE OF THAT GROUP.
HERE, YOU'RE NOT AS BAD. HERE 45% ARE OK 55% ARE ALIGNED WITH THE MARKET.
NOW PART OF THE REASON IS MOST OF THE POSITIONS IN A LOT OF YOUR DEPARTMENTS, YOU'RE NOT USING THE SALARY RANGE AND YOU'RE HIRING RIGHT AT THAT MIDPOINT OF THAT SALARY RANGE. SO YOU'RE HIRING THEM RIGHT AT THAT MARKET RATE.
THE PROBLEM YOU HAVE IS ONCE YOU GET TO THAT MARKET RATE, IT'S UP TO YOU AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GOING TO RECEIVE A SALARY INCREASE, BECAUSE THERE'S NO MORE SCHEDULE FOR THEM TO GO AT AND SO IT'S ONLY IF YOU INCREASE THAT SALARY SCHEDULE.
ARE THEY GETTING ANY TYPE OF MONEY? SO YOU'RE HIRING PEOPLE AT THE MARKET AND THEN SAYING, YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU MAY NOT GET ANOTHER SALARY INCREASE.
IT'S ALL GOING TO BE UP TO THE QUORUM COURT AND THE BUDGET COMMITTEE ALL RIGHT YOUR CURRENT SALARY [LAUGHTER] SYSTEM IT'S VERY INTERESTING.
WE HAVE TWO SCHEDULES. WE HAVE A CLASSIFIED AND AN UNCLASSIFIED SCHEDULE.
THE CLASSIFIED SCHEDULE HAS 16 PAY GRADES. IT HAS 235 JOB TITLES SQUISHED INTO THOSE 16 PAY GRADES.
YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A SALARY RANGE THAT'S 72% FROM MINIMUM TO MAXIMUM, WHICH IS HUGE.
WE DO NOT DEVELOP SALARY [LAUGHTER] SCHEDULES THAT BIG ANYMORE.
HOWEVER, OUT OF THAT 72%, YOU CAN ONLY ACCESS 32% BECAUSE YOU'RE STOPPING AT THAT MIDPOINT.
SO YOU HAVE THIS ENTIRE SALARY RANGE THAT'S NOT BEING UTILIZED.
LIKE I SAID, THE MIDPOINT REPRESENTS NOW THE MAXIMUM OF YOUR SALARY RANGE.
NOW, THE HR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN CREATIVE AND HAS PUT TOGETHER THIS 85% OF RANGE WHERE IF YOU HAVE SOME SPECIAL CREDENTIALING OR SPECIAL DEGREES THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE, YOU POSSIBLY CAN GO ABOVE THAT MARKET RATE.
BUT IT'S A VERY SELECT FEW POSITIONS THAT WOULD HAVE THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO GO ABOVE THAT.
THE OTHER THING VERY INTERESTING IS THAT YOU HAVE A TON OF DUPLICATE JOB TITLES.
I FOUND THAT THERE ARE 20 DIFFERENT TITLES FOR THE POSITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT.
THEY ARE IN 9 DIFFERENT PAY GRADES. AND WHEN YOU READ THEM I'M GOING, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? OTHER THAN THE JOB TITLE. YOU HAVE POSITIONS, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT IS ONE OF THEM.
THAT SAME JOB TITLE IS FOUND IN 4 DIFFERENT PAY GRADES.
YOU HAVE THE TITLE OF NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR. IT'S IN 3 DIFFERENT PAY GRADES.
SO HOW DO I EXPLAIN TO AN EMPLOYEE THAT YOU ARE A NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR IN PAY GRADE 7 AND YOU'RE ONE IN PAY GRADE 10 WHEN IT'S PRACTICALLY THE SAME JOB DESCRIPTION BUT HAS DIFFERENT PAY BANDS? AND THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF MULTIPLE [LAUGHTER] EXAMPLES THAT WE FOUND GOING THROUGH ALL OF YOUR JOB DESCRIPTIONS.
SO IN ADDITION TO A. MAKING SURE YOU'RE COMPETITIVE WITH THE EXTERNAL MARKET, WE ALSO SPENT A LOT OF TIME MAKING SURE POSITIONS ARE INTERNALLY EQUITABLE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION. IF I'M AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT AND I HAVE SIMILAR JOB DUTIES, I'M GOING TO BE CALLED THE SAME THING AND I'M GOING TO BE IN THE SAME PAY GRADE.
AND SO WE SPENT TIME DOING THAT. YOUR UNCLASSIFIED SYSTEM IS SMALLER.
[00:35:05]
WE HAVE 8 PAY GRADES WITH 66 JOB TITLES IN THERE, YOU HAVE 66% FROM MINIMUM TO MAXIMUM, BUT AGAIN, YOU STOP IT AT 27%, WHICH IS A VERY SMALL PAY RANGE.VERY LITTLE. VERY LITTLE ROOM TO GROW. AGAIN YOU STILL HAVE LACK OF INCENTIVES FOR RETENTION.
AND AGAIN, YOU HAVE THAT CREDENTIALING THAT THEY HAVE IN THE OTHER GROUP AS WELL.
SO BASICALLY YOUR SALARY SCHEDULES ARE REALLY PART OF THE PROBLEM.
YOU REALLY DO NOT HAVE ANY. AND THIS IS NO FAULT OF ANYBODY'S.
YOU REALLY DO NOT HAVE ANY POLICIES OR PROCEDURES THAT GUIDE PLACEMENT OF POSITIONS.
IT'S PRETTY MUCH DONE. PEOPLE SAY, HEY, THIS IS WHAT I WANT.
AND THEN THEY ADVOCATE AND I'M THEY ADVOCATE TO YOU.
THEY ADVOCATE TO THE BUDGET COMMITTEE. AND WITHOUT ANY TYPE OF CRITERIA OR GUIDELINES, YOU SAY, OKAY. AND SO THEREFORE IT'S CAUSED A LOT OF COMPRESSION.
I ATTEMPTED TO PUT THOSE TWO SALARY SCHEDULES TOGETHER.
YOU HAVE [LAUGHTER] A LOT OF POSITIONS WHERE THEY'RE VERY, VERY CLOSE TOGETHER.
AND SO WHY WOULD I TAKE THAT PROMOTION OR WHY WOULD I GO TO THAT NEXT PAY GRADE? BECAUSE THAT RANGE IS ALMOST AS SMALL AS THE ONE THAT I'M IN.
IN SOME CASES, YOU MIGHT BE TAKING A PAY CUT TO GO TO A HIGHER LEVEL POSITION, BECAUSE HOW THOSE POSITIONS ARE EVALUATED WITHIN THAT STRUCTURE OR LACK OF STRUCTURE. SO I THINK IT'S VERY GOOD THAT THE COUNTY HAS TAKEN IT UPON THEMSELVES TO GO AND DO SOMETHING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MAKE THIS SCHEDULE TOGETHER.
SO WE CAN DO THE NEXT, JUST HIT THE CLICK, YEAH THANK YOU AGAIN IT'S NOT CONSISTENTLY INCREASED AS WELL. YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING AT A SALARY STRUCTURE.
AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT EVERY YEAR TO SAY, DO WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING TO KEEP IT COMPETITIVE? AND WHEN YOU DO INCREASE THAT SALARY SCHEDULE, ONLY THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD FALL BELOW THE MINIMUM WILL NOW MOVE TO THE MINIMUM.
SO IF I'M IN THAT SALARY RANGE AND THAT SALARY RANGE GOES UP, I DON'T MOVE.
EMPLOYEE MOVEMENT THROUGH THE SCHEDULE IS BASED UPON EACH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR.
THAT CAN BE INCONSISTENT. LET'S SEE VERY FEW POSITIONS ARE AT THE MINIMUM OR THE LOWER END OF THE SALARY SCHEDULE.
SO AGAIN, YOU'RE LIMITING ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
AND RIGHT NOW, I WOULD SAY IF YOU WERE BEING [LAUGHTER] PUT TO COURT TO TRY TO LEGALLY DEFEND THIS COMPENSATION SYSTEM, I THINK YOU'D BE IN A WORLD OF HURT. IT WOULD BE VERY HARD TO SAY, WHY ARE YOU PAYING SOME OF THESE POSITIONS AT THIS LEVEL VERSUS SAME SIMILAR POSITIONS AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL? IT WOULD BE VERY HARD TO DEFEND AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT EVEN MEETING THE AVERAGE MARKET RATE.
AND SO THE QUESTION BECOMES DO YOU WANT TO BE AVERAGE? DO YOU WANT TO BE ABOVE AVERAGE OR DO YOU NEED TO BE SLIGHTLY BELOW AVERAGE? NOW I WILL TELL YOU THIS. AND I [LAUGHTER] HEARD A LOT OF THIS FROM ESPECIALLY YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, IS THAT THEY FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD BE HIGHER THAN AVERAGE.
AND THERE IS SOME MERIT TO THAT BECAUSE YOU ARE A LARGE COUNTY.
AND SO THEREFORE, THERE COULD BE AN ARGUMENT THAT YOU SHOULD BE PAID HIGHER THAN AVERAGE.
I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE MIDWEST, WE'RE SEEING A LOT MORE SALARY SCHEDULES THAT ARE GOING AT THE 60TH, THE 65TH PERCENTILE. I HAVE ONE CLIENT RIGHT NOW THAT ONE OF MY CONSULTANTS IS DEALING WITH.
THEY'RE DOING AT THE 85TH PERCENTILE. NOW, IT'S NOT BEING RECOMMENDED, BY THE WAY SO [LAUGHTER] WE ARE LOOKING AT BASING YOUR SCHEDULE AT THE AVERAGE MARKET RATE.
I WOULD LOVE TO SAY TO YOU, AND I THINK THERE IS A LOT OF ARGUMENT THAT YOU SHOULD BE HIGHER THAN AVERAGE, BUT RIGHT NOW YOU'RE NOT EVEN UTILIZING THE ENTIRE SALARY RANGE.
NEXT, PLEASE WE DID A LOT OF THINGS. NUMBER 1, WE ALIGNED ALL POSITIONS FOR INTERNAL EQUITY.
WE DID, LIKE I SAID, READ EVERY JOB DESCRIPTION.
SOME PEOPLE FEEL THAT JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SAME JOB TITLE, ALL JOB TITLES ARE CREATED EQUAL AND THEY SHOULD BE BASED AND THEN PAID IN THE SAME PAY GRADE. THAT'S NOT TRUE. WE LOOKED AT 13 COMPENSABLE FACTORS THAT EVALUATE A JOB AND PUT SOME PARAMETERS AROUND THAT. WE THEN LOOK AND WE GROUP POSITIONS THAT MIGHT HAVE THESE SIMILAR COMPENSABLE FACTORS TOGETHER.
[00:40:03]
WE THEN LOOK AT THE EXTERNAL MARKET. RIGHT NOW YOUR MINIMUMS ARE VERY COMPETITIVE TO THE EXTERNAL MARKET.YOUR MARKET RATE OR YOUR MIDPOINT IS ALSO VERY COMPETITIVE.
THE PROBLEM WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IS RIGHT NOW YOU'RE NOT FUNDING ANYTHING ABOVE THAT MARKET RATE.
AND SO WE HAVE BUILT AN ENTIRE SCHEDULE. WE HAVE GIVEN YOU A MINIMUM A MIDPOINT AND A MAXIMUM.
HERE'S WHERE YOU SHOULD BE WITHIN 4 TO 7 YEARS AND ABOVE SEVEN YEARS.
YOU SHOULD BE IN THE THIRD QUARTILE MOVING FORWARD.
OBVIOUSLY PERFORMANCE WILL PLAY A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANT TO REWARD PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE AREN'T DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO IF YOU FOLLOW THE RULES THAT HAVE BEEN SET OUT IN THE POLICY GUIDELINES, THEN IT WILL BE LEGALLY DEFENSIVE.
BUT THERE ARE RULES THAT GO ALONG WITH THIS COMPENSATION PLAN ON HOW TO PLACE PEOPLE, HOW TO HIRE PEOPLE, HOW TO PROMOTE, HOW TO TRANSFER, ETC. SO LIKE I SAID, A QUARTILE SECOND. RIGHT NOW WE DO HAVE A THIRD AND A FOURTH THAT ARE CURRENTLY ARE BEING TOLD UNAVAILABLE AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
PART OF THE CONCERN BY OPENING UP THE SALARY SCHEDULE IS THAT YOU HAVE HAD THIS PRACTICE OF ALLOWING PEOPLE TO START PEOPLE AT THE MARKET, AND SO THE CONCERN IS GOING TO BE IF WE OPEN IT UP, ARE NOW PEOPLE THINKING, OH, WE CAN START EVERYBODY AT THE THIRD QUARTILE.
IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK AND EFFORT TO GET ABOVE THAT SECOND QUARTILE.
AND AT THIS POINT IN TIME, I'M SAYING YOU DON'T HIRE ANYBODY ABOVE THE SECOND QUARTILE UNTIL YOU START ESTABLISHING SOME PARAMETERS AND MAKING SURE THAT I'M HIRING ABOVE THAT. BASED UPON THIS TYPE OF CRITERIA, WE NEED TO REIN IN SOME OF THIS FREEDOM THAT SOME FOLKS HAVE HAD IN THE PAST.
NEXT YOU HAVE DIRECTORS REPORTING TO DIRECTORS [LAUGHTER].
YOU HAVE ALL KINDS OF TITLES ALL OVER THE PLACE.
SO WE HAVE BASICALLY SAID, YOU'RE A DIRECTOR, WHICH MEANS YOU EITHER YOU ARE ELECTED OR YOU'RE POINTED AND YOU ARE RUNNING AND MANAGING AN ENTIRE DEPARTMENT. WE THEN HAVE EITHER CHIEF OR CHIEF DEPUTY OR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR YOUR SECOND IN COMMAND USUALLY HAVE SOME SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES, SOME BUDGET OR SOME STRATEGIC PLANNING. A MANAGER IS A PERSON WHO ACTUALLY SUPERVISES A SUPERVISOR.
WE'RE CALLING THOSE ADMINISTRATORS OR COORDINATORS.
AND THEN A SUPERVISOR BASICALLY HAS TWO PEOPLE THAT DIRECTLY REPORT TO THEM.
NOW DOES IT NEED TO BE WE HAVE FULL TIME EMPLOYEES HERE.
IT COULD BE FOR PART TIME EMPLOYEES AS LONG AS YOU HAVE WHAT'S CONSIDERED TO BE TWO FTE OR TWO FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS, THEN YOU'RE CONSIDERED TO BE A SUPERVISOR. SO WE TRIED TO CLEAN UP ALL OF THAT TITLING, BECAUSE ONE OF THE CONCERNS YOU HAVE WITH TITLING, IF YOU ARE COMPARING WITH A DIFFERENT ORGANIZATION, THE TITLE ALONE SHOULD NOT DICTATE WHAT IT IS.
SO IF YOU MIGHT BE DOING A MANAGER AND YOU'RE NOT REALLY A MANAGER, WHY SHOULD YOU BE COMPARING IT TO A PERSON WHO'S REALLY A MANAGER? SO AGAIN, WE'VE ATTEMPTED TO CLEAN THAT UP. ONCE WE HAD THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM DEVELOPED.
NEXT PLEASE THERE'S 4 DIFFERENT ELEMENTS THAT WE USE. SO IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE AND SAY, WELL, WAIT A SECOND, I KNOW SOMEBODY WHO GETS PAID HIGHER THAN ME THAN HIGHER THAN THIS.
WE LOOKED AT THEM IN THOSE 13 COMPENSABLE FACTORS.
THAT'S THE SECOND CRITERIA. THE THIRD ONE WE LOOKED AT IS COMPRESSION.
COMPRESSION IS WHERE, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, IF I'M A POSITION AND I WANT TO MOVE TO A SUPERVISOR, DOES IT MAKE SENSE FOR ME TO MOVE TO THAT PAY RANGE BECAUSE I'M GOING TO GET MORE COMPENSATION FOR TAKING ON MORE RESPONSIBILITIES? AND SO WE LOOKED AT THAT. THERE IS SOME OVERLAP IN THESE SALARY SCHEDULES.
SO YOU MAY HAVE A SITUATION WHERE A LONG TERM EMPLOYEE MAY MAKE MORE MONEY THAN A BRAND NEW SUPERVISOR, BUT AT WHAT POINT IN TIME DOES THAT BRAND NEW SUPERVISOR THEN OUTPACE THE EMPLOYEES THAT THEY ARE SUPERVISING? SO WE LOOKED AT THAT. AND THE LAST THING WAS INTERNAL EQUITY.
DO WE HAVE POSITIONS THAT HAVE SIMILAR RESPONSIBILITIES AND SAME PAY GRADES? OR I MAY HAVE PUT TWO SUPERVISORS IN TWO DIFFERENT PAY GRADES.
AND WHEN WE TALK WITH THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR, THEY SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU KNOW, I KNOW WHY YOU PUT THEM IN TWO PAID GRADES. BUT IN MY DEPARTMENT, THEY'RE BOTH EQUAL, THEY BOTH DO THE SAME THING, THEY'RE CROSS-TRAINED. I WANT TO HAVE THEM IN THE SAME RANGE FOR INTERNAL EQUITY.
[00:45:04]
AND SO WE TOOK A LOOK AT THAT AS WELL. SO IT'S NOT JUST ONE THING THAT YOU LOOK AT.YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL 4. AND ALL 4 OF THOSE HAVE TO BE MARRIED TOGETHER.
ONCE WE HAVE THE POSITIONS WE NOW HAVE TO PLACE PEOPLE, BECAUSE UP UNTIL NOW, I'M NOT LOOKING AT PEOPLE, I'M LOOKING AT THE POSITION. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE A GOOD EMPLOYEE, THEY'RE A BAD EMPLOYEE, THEY'RE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE. I'M LOOKING AT STRICTLY THE POSITION AND WHAT'S REQUIRED IN THE WAY OF EDUCATION, SKILLS, RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THAT POSITION. BUT WE NEED TO PLACE PEOPLE.
OKAY? ALL RIGHT, MANAGING THE SCHEDULE A COUPLE OF THINGS.
NUMBER 1, YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THAT SALARY SCHEDULE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
IT CAN'T BE ONCE EVERY 10 [LAUGHTER] YEARS OR ONCE EVERY 3 YEARS.
AND YOU NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I RECOMMEND IS THAT YOU LOOK AT I HAVE A LOT OF CLIENTS THAT WILL LOOK AT CPI-U, AND THEY'LL TAKE A THREE-YEAR AVERAGE OF CPI-U AND SAY, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO INCREASE THE SCHEDULE BASED UPON THAT AVERAGE OF CPI.
SO THAT'S LIFTING THE SCHEDULE. EVERYBODY SHOULD GET THAT INCREASE.
BECAUSE IF I DON'T GET THAT INCREASE I'M LOSING MY POSITION WITHIN THAT SALARY RANGE.
THE SECOND THING YOU NEED TO LOOK AT IS MOVEMENT THROUGH THE SALARY RANGE BASED UPON PERFORMANCE.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE SAYING, HEY, LOOK AT CPI OR UP TO 3%, WHICH IS EVER GREATER.
YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE GUIDELINES. IS THAT WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO USE.
AND I BELIEVE THAT'S BEING GIVEN ON THE EMPLOYEES ANNIVERSARY DATE.
SO THAT'S KIND OF SPREAD OUT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE YEAR.
AND THEN WORK ON OPENING THAT SCHEDULE UP. YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO AT LEAST START MOVING, AT LEAST OPEN UP TO THE THIRD QUARTILE, YOU KNOW, IF NOT THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE, BECAUSE, AGAIN, YOU'RE LIMITING YOUR EMPLOYEE MOVEMENT.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT? EVERY ELECTED OFFICIAL HERE, WHETHER YOU'RE SITTING HERE OR WHETHER YOU'RE A DEPARTMENT HEAD OR WHETHER YOU'RE APPOINTED. YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF MAKING SURE THAT YOUR DEPARTMENT OPERATES UNDER FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL POLICY GUIDELINES. THAT'S YOUR JOB. HR HAS THE SAME RESPONSIBILITY.
AND SO THEREFORE THEY NEED TO BE IN CHARGE WITH COMPLIANCE WITH THIS PROGRAM.
I SAID BEFORE, IF YOU FOLLOW THE RULES, YOU WILL HAVE A LEGALLY DEFENSIBLE SYSTEM.
THEY'RE THE ONES THAT HELP DETERMINE JOB TITLING, ELIMINATION OF JOBS, CREATION OF JOBS.
I KNOW SOME OF THAT'S DONE THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS AS WELL.
OBVIOUSLY, THEY CAN CREATE THEM, BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO FUND THEM.
SO [LAUGHTER] THAT DOESN'T GO AWAY. MAKING SURE JOB DESCRIPTIONS ARE UP TO DATE.
IT WAS AMAZING HOW MANY TIMES I MET WITH DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS THAT SAID, WELL, THAT'S NOT RIGHT, BECAUSE THIS POSITION DOES ALL THIS, AND I'M LIKE, I DON'T SEE IT.
I HAD A LOT OF POSITIONS THAT WERE CALLED SUPERVISORS.
I SAW PEOPLE THAT THEY SUPERVISED, BUT I DIDN'T SEE WHETHER OR NOT THEY EVALUATED.
DID THEY HELP IN THE HIRING PROCESS? DID THEY HAVE PORTIONS OF DISCIPLINE? AND I KNOW FROM AN HR PERSPECTIVE THAT NONE OF THAT'S DONE IN A VACUUM, BUT AT LEAST ARE THEY THE ONES THAT ARE EFFECTIVELY RECOMMENDING THESE? AND THEY WEREN'T IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION. SO IN MY OPINION, THEY'RE NOT A SUPERVISOR.
SO WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE JOB DESCRIPTIONS ARE UP TO DATE.
AND WE'VE PUT SOME LENGTHY, YOU KNOW, DEFINITIONS TOGETHER OF WHAT THAT SHOULD BE.
AND I WILL TELL YOU, I'VE BEEN PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN I NORMALLY WOULD, BECAUSE, AGAIN, WE'VE HAD THIS HISTORY OF JUST ALLOWING PEOPLE TO START WHEREVER WE WANT TO WITHIN THAT SALARY RANGE, WHICH IS CAUSING A LOT OF IN RANGE COMPRESSION AS WELL, WHICH IS A WHOLE NOTHER TOPIC AND THEN OBVIOUSLY MAKING SURE PERFORMANCE IS PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS ARE DONE OBJECTIVELY. YOU NEED TO HAVE SOMEBODY KIND OF REVIEW THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SAYING THINGS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE AND SHOULD BE SAID.
SO HR IS GOING TO HAVE SOME RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN IT COMES TO EVALUATING THIS PLAN.
[00:50:04]
THANKS BUT AGAIN, SOME FINE READING FOR YOU. IN THE EXECUTIVE REPORT, WE DID A REVIEW OF HEALTH INSURANCE.IT WAS PREDOMINANTLY PREMIUMS. AS I SAID BEFORE, WE ARE NOT INSURANCE BROKERS, BUT LOOKED AT WHERE YOUR EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE IN RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS.
WE LOOKED AT TIME OFF BENEFITS, VACATION, HOLIDAY, SICK LEAVE, RETIREMENT, WELL-BEING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION. THERE'S SOME IDEAS IN THERE FOR THE COUNTY CONSIDER AS IT MOVES DOWN THE ROAD.
GREAT NOW WE'RE ALL BACK ON. DO YOU ALL WANT TO GO RIGHT INTO QUESTIONS AND WORK ON THIS OR WHAT'S YOUR PLEASURE? I HAVE A QUESTION I THINK. YOU'RE RECOGNIZED AND I'LL COME BACK TO YOU, PATRICIA.
OKAY IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBER, I WILL DEFINITELY.
I'M DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN THE NUMBER. BUT HOW MANY LOW POSITIONS DO YOU EXCLUDE FROM YOUR EQUATION REGARDING YOUR COMPA-RATIO? DO YOU HAVE THAT FIGURE? I MEAN, SOMEWHERE OR MAYBE NOT NOW, BUT.
I WOULD SAY WE'RE TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, ELIMINATING MAYBE 1 OR 2 FROM THE BOTTOM 1 OR 2 FROM THE TOP.
OKAY BECAUSE TO ME IT'S UNRELIABLE DATA. THAT'S WHAT I WAS THAT'S WHAT I WAS WONDERING.
SO IF YOU, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU WERE TO ELIMINATE TWO LOW ONES, YOU'RE GOING TO ELIMINATE TWO HIGH ONES? OR WILL THERE BE AN OFF NUMBER? WELL IT DEPENDS IF THOSE IF THOSE HIGH NUMBERS FIT WITHIN THE FORMULA.
SO IF THEY FIT WITHIN THE FORMULA THEY'RE GOING TO BE THEY'LL STAY.
BUT IF THEY DON'T FIT WITHIN THE FORMULA THEY WILL LEAVE.
IS THAT A PROPRIETARY FORMULA? YEAH. OKAY. YES [LAUGHTER] PAID QUITE A BIT FOR THAT THAT'S ALL I HAVE, SIR. THANK YOU. JUSTICE. I WILL YOU PULL YOUR MICROPHONE DOWN, PLEASE? I APPRECIATE YOU NO. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YEAH [LAUGHTER]. OKAY I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BREAKING DOWN THE MINIMUM AND THE MIDPOINT IN THE MAXIMUM, BECAUSE WHEN I READ IT, I WAS REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE MIDPOINT BEING THE MAXIMUM ON THE SALARY RANGE.
AND SO WHEN I, WHEN I HEAR YOU EXPLAIN IT AND I THINK ABOUT IT, IF THE MIDPOINT IS THE MAXIMUM SALARY AND THEN YOU HAVE QUADRANT 3 AND 4 AND PEOPLE WILL NEVER BE HIRED AT 3 AND 4, IT DOESN'T REALLY GIVE A TRUE REPRESENTATION OF WHAT THE COUNTY EMPLOYEES LOOK TO LIKE A GOAL OR WHAT THEY CAN OBTAIN, OR SO WHAT'S THE POINT IN GIVING THEM THAT FALSE HOPE IF THEY CAN NEVER GET THERE? WELL, THAT WILL BE UP TO YOU [LAUGHTER]. NOT YOU PERSONALLY DO WE WANT TO CONTINUE THIS METHODOLOGY WHERE WE CUT OUR SALARY SCHEDULE SO SHORT? WHICH IS NOT TYPICAL, IT'S NOT TRADITIONAL. OR DO YOU START WORKING TO OPEN UP THAT SALARY RANGE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEM? YOU KNOW, IN THE REPORT IT'S GRAYED OUT, IT'S THAT IT'S NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.
AND BUT THAT'S HOW WE WERE ASKED TO PRESENT THE SCHEDULE.
WHAT DOES A TRADITIONAL SALARY SCHEDULE LOOK LIKE.
BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, IT IS GOING TO BE VERY DEMORALIZING TO SEE, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE COULD, BUT THIS COUNTY IS JUST NOT FUNDING IT. OKAY.
AND THEN YOU TALKED ABOUT LIKE THERE WERE MULTIPLE JOB TITLES, LIKE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, SAME JOB TITLE PAY STRUCTURE BEING DIFFERENT.
AND THEN JOB DESCRIPTIONS NOT REALLY EQUATING OR MATCHING THAT TITLE.
BUT SO WHEN YOU GUYS CAME UP WITH THIS SALARY SCALE.
DID YOU TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION THAT, YOU KNOW, WHILE ONE DIRECTOR MAY SAY THAT THIS PERSON DOES ALL THESE DUTIES, BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY REFLECT ON THE JOB DESCRIPTION.
DID THOSE DEPARTMENTS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH HR TO REVAMP THOSE JOB DESCRIPTIONS? IF THOSE ARE THE DUTIES THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING?
[00:55:01]
OR DID YOU JUST TAKE THE CURRENT JOB DESCRIPTION AND THAT WAS THE DECISION THAT WAS MADE? WE TOOK JUST THE CURRENT JOB DESCRIPTION. SO WHEN WE ALIGNED POSITIONS, I LOOKED AT WHAT THE RESPONSIBILITIES WERE WITHIN THE CURRENT JOB DESCRIPTIONS.AND LET'S PICK ON ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS. YOU NOW ONLY HAVE 4 LEVELS OF ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT.
AND SO I SAID OKAY TO MEET THE CRITERIA. THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE, FOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALISTS. AND THERE'S ONE OTHER ONE I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE TITLE IS COMING FROM THE CURRENT JOB DESCRIPTIONS. WHEN WE MET WITH DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS WHO SAID THAT THIS JOB DESCRIPTION MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE, HR HAS SAID THAT THEY WILL WORK WITH THEM TO UPDATE THOSE JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND MAYBE BRING THOSE UP TO THE DECISION MAKERS IN APRIL.
OKAY OKAY CHIEF, DEPUTY DEPUTY AND SOME THAT THEY WERE I GUESS THEY ALL KIND OF DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT? THEY COULD DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. SO THEY MAY HAVE THE TITLE OF CHIEF.
LET'S PICK ON CHIEF DEPUTY. CHIEF DEPUTY YOU MAY FIND IN A DIFFERENT NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PAY GRADES, BUT IT'S CHIEF DEPUTY OF THE COURT OR CHIEF DEPUTY OF HUMAN RESOURCES OR CHIEF DEPUTY OF WHATEVER IT IS.
YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE 13 FACTORS AND ESPECIALLY WHEN WE LOOK AT THE MARKET.
AND SO THEREFORE, EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT HAVE A TITLE THAT STARTS WITH CHIEF DEPUTY, IT MIGHT BE JUST LIKE DIRECTORS ARE IN DIFFERENT PAY GRADES, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE A DIRECTOR OF ONE MAY HAVE MORE RESPONSIBILITY THAN A SHERIFF, EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T CALL THEM DIRECTORS OR THE SHERIFFS DIRECTOR I THINK IN YOUR EXAMPLE EARLIER YOU TALKED ABOUT LIKE A MANAGER.
SO WOULD IT BE MORE BENEFICIAL TO CHANGE JOB TITLES TO MATCH? SO IT'S NOT CONFUSING? BECAUSE IN YOUR EXAMPLE YOU SAID LIKE A MANAGER COULD BE DOING ONE THING, BUT THEN YOU REALIZE THAT THEY'RE NOT DOING, I GUESS, REALLY MANAGING.
RIGHT SO WE CLEANED UP THOSE TITLES. OKAY THE SALARY SCHEDULE THAT HR HAS, HAS THE OLD TITLE AND THEN THE RECOMMENDED TITLE SO WE CAN MATCH UP WHICH ONE IT WAS, YOU KNOW, FOR THAT I WAS READING IN HERE AND IT TALKED ABOUT THE POINT FACTOR AND THAT IT WAS THAT SYSTEM WAS GOING TO REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL.
IS MAYBE IS THERE. IT CAN. ARE WE GOING TO BE PRIVY TO THAT INFORMATION? I CAN TELL YOU WHAT THE FACTORS ARE. WE TYPICALLY DO NOT SEND OUT OR GIVE OUT WHAT THE POINTS ARE, BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS THEN IS PEOPLE START WRITING THEIR JOB DESCRIPTIONS TO THE POINTS AND NOT BEING OBJECTIVE.
SO WE DO TRY TO KEEP THAT AS CLOSE TO THE VEST AS POSSIBLE.
I WAS WITH AN ORGANIZATION A LONG TIME AGO WHERE WE EVERYBODY KNEW WHAT THE POINT SYSTEM WAS, AND THEN THEY HAD TO APPEAR IN FRONT OF A COMMITTEE TO DEFEND THE POINTS.
AND IT WAS JUST IT WAS AWFUL. I MEAN, I FELT BAD FOR THE EMPLOYEES.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT MANAGERS DIDN'T WRITE THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS BASED UPON WHAT THE JOBS DID, BUT THEY BOTH THE JOBS BASED UPON WHAT WAS GOING TO GET THEM MORE POINTS.
AND IT STARTS TO REALLY DEGRADE THE SYSTEM. I HATE TO BE I HATE TO BE SECRETIVE ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN AN ERA OF TRANSPARENCY. BUT AT THE SAME POINT IN TIME, THE TRANSPARENCY CAN REALLY HARM THE SYSTEM.
THANK YOU. JUSTICE BLACKWOOD YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR QUESTIONS.
YES. WHEN YOU DID THE COMPARE COMPATIBLE COMPARABLE ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU LOOKED AT.
DID YOU USE ALL OF THEM? DID YOU THROW OUT THE HIGHS AND THE LOWS? DID YOU? FOR EACH POSITION, I HAVE A DATA CONSULTANT THAT GOES THROUGH EVERY WEEK WE CREATE A MASTER LIST OF ALL OF YOUR TITLES AND THEN ALL OF THE COMPARATORS. THEY THEN GET THE DATA FROM THOSE ORGANIZATIONS.
AND SO THEN IT'S HER RESPONSIBILITY TO MATCH THOSE POSITIONS WITH YOUR POSITIONS.
SO THERE'S SOME THAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND THAT WE HAD NO DATA ON BECAUSE EITHER A.
THEY DON'T HAVE THAT POSITION OR WE DON'T FEEL THE MATCH IS THE SAME OR THE DATA IS JUST IT'S TOO,
[01:00:01]
YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT A 20,000 OR 50,000 OR 70,000.WELL, THAT'S BAD DATA. IT'S NOT TELLING ME ANYTHING.
SO WE LOOK FOR POSITIONS WHERE WE HAVE NICE TIGHT GROUPINGS OF WHAT THAT DATA LOOKS LIKE.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, YOU DID BENTON COUNTY, CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, YOU KNOW, CITY OF NORTH LITTLE ROCK AND ALL THAT.
SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT CITY OF LITTLE ROCK, WHICH IS OUR BIGGEST COMPETITOR, WHICH TAKES AWAY MOST OF OUR EMPLOYEES BECAUSE THEY MAKE MORE MONEY THAN WE DO. [LAUGHTER] SO THIS BECOMES A PROBLEM FOR US.
YOU KNOW, KEEPING. KEEPING EMPLOYEES. SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THEIR NUMBERS AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING, YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT COMPARABLE JOBS IS WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
CORRECT SOME POSITIONS WHERE WE KNOW LITTLE ROCK IS DEFINITELY A PROBLEM CHILD.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE SHERIFF.
AFTER TALKING WITH THE SHERIFF IT'S LIKE, WAIT A SECOND.
IT STILL WAS IN MY FORMULA, BUT IT OBVIOUSLY WASN'T THERE.
SO I INCREASED IT A PAY RATE SO THAT IT WAS CLOSER TO LITTLE ROCK VERSUS THE AVERAGE.
SO I DID OKAY AND ALSO THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT. YOU SAID HR IS GOING TO BE MORE INVOLVED? LET'S SEE WAIT A MINUTE WELL, HR NEEDS TO BE LIKE ANY DEPARTMENT HEAD MAKING SURE THAT THE POLICY IS FOLLOWED.
YOU KNOW? PEOPLE ARE BEING HIRED WHERE THEY SHOULD BE IF THEY'RE BEING HIRED ABOVE THE MINIMUM IS THERE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION SO THAT IF ANYBODY SAYS, WHY DID YOU HIRE JOHN HIGHER THAN YOU HIRED JUANITA? THERE'S SOME JUSTIFICATION AS TO WHY YOU DID IT.
AND I PICKED THOSE NAMES ON PURPOSE, BY THE WAY [LAUGHTER]. SO, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD SAY, WELL, IT'S BECAUSE JOHN HAD THIS, THIS AND THAT WHERE JUANITA DIDN'T.
SO DOING THAT, MAKING SURE THAT THOSE, YOU KNOW, DEPARTMENT HEADS, IF THEY'RE COMPLAINING ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE, ARE THEY ARE ARE THEY ASSISTING AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE JOB DESCRIPTIONS ARE BEING DONE WHEN SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE PROMOTED, TRANSFERRED, THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING THE RULES THAT HAVE BEEN OUTLINED IN WHAT QUARTILES THEY CAN BE IN MAKING SURE THAT PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS ARE DONE APPROPRIATELY AND ON TIME. I MEAN, THEY'RE NOT CHANGING ANYTHING, BUT THEY MAY TURN AROUND AND SAY, WELL, WAIT A SECOND, YOU JUST GAVE THIS PERSON A GLORIOUS PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.
BUT YOU'VE BEEN IN MY OFFICE FOR THE PAST THREE MONTHS COMPLAINING ABOUT THEM.
HOW CAN THIS PERSON BE A 5 WHEN WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF DISCIPLINES ON IT? MAYBE WE NEED TO GO BACK AND RECONSIDER THAT.
SO AGAIN, SO THAT YOU CAN JUSTIFY IT. SO IS HR NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT NOW? THEY ARE I'M JUST MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT IT IS.
OH OKAY, SO THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT NOW.
DO THEY HAVE ANY WILL HR HAVE ANY RESPONSIBILITY AS FAR AS PAY INCREASES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? OR WILL DEPARTMENT HEADS HAVE? THEY SHOULD BE.
WILL IT ALL BE? THREE-YEAR AVERAGE OF CPI AND THE AVERAGE IS 2.6%, WHICH IS WHAT I THINK IT IS RIGHT NOW.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO. MAKING SURE THAT THAT YOU HAVE THAT INFORMATION YOU KNOW, TAKING A LOOK AT CPI AND THAT AND SAYING, OKAY, FOR YOUR BUDGET PROCESS, WE SHOULD BE DOING 3% FOR INCREASES, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW I THINK YOUR PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS ARE EITHER YOU GET IT OR YOU DON'T, YOU KNOW, TYPE OF A THING SO, YOU KNOW? MAKING SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE INFORMATION YOU NEED IN WHICH TO MAKE THOSE FISCAL DECISIONS.
OKAY THANK YOU. JUSTICE STOWERS, YOU'RE RECOGNIZED LET ME TURN ON MY SPEAKER HERE. YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR A QUESTION THANK YOU.
IF WE WERE, LET'S JUST SAY WE HAD A MONEY TREE IN THE BACKYARD [LAUGHTER] AND WE COULD IMPLEMENT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN ONE FELL SWOOP. ANY IDEA WHAT THE COST WOULD BE? WAS, WAS THAT STEADY? YOU KNOW, I OH, I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK, I DID I DID PLACE, I DID NOT I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND DO THAT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WHAT I DID IS I PLACED EVERYBODY TO THE MINIMUM.
[01:05:02]
AND TRUST ME, WE CAN'T AFFORD THAT SO THAT'S JUST THE BOTTOM LINE.WHAT YOU REALLY SHOULD BE LOOKING AT IS TWO THINGS RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, AS MUCH AS I WANT YOU TO OPEN UP THAT ENTIRE SCHEDULE, I THINK YOU NEED TO DO IT PRUDENTLY.
BUT RIGHT NOW, I THINK THAT'S ALL YOU'RE DOING IS MOVING PEOPLE TO THE MINIMUM.
AND ANYBODY WHO IS ABOVE THE MINIMUM ISN'T GETTING ANYTHING.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE YOU NEED TO KIND OF TAKE A LOOK AT.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO GIVE THOSE FOLKS THAT ARE ALREADY WITHIN THAT SALARY SCHEDULE MONEY? THERE'S ALL KINDS OF OTHER THINGS YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING AT.
YOU KNOW, COMPRESSION IS ONE OF THOSE, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HIRED AT THE MARKET, AND THEY'VE BEEN HERE FOR EITHER TEN YEARS OR ONE YEAR, AND THEY'RE ALL MAKING THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY. AND SO YOU SHOULD ADDRESS THAT.
BUT FISCALLY, YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO EVEN COME CLOSE TO ADDRESSING THAT.
AND I DO HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION PROBABLY BETTER DIRECTED AT HUMAN RESOURCES THAN CHAZ I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO HAVE THESE NUMBERS OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW. BASED ON EACH ELECTED OFFICIAL THE FIVE WHAT THE TURNOVER RATE IS IN, IN EACH ONE OF, OF THEIR RESPECTIVE AREAS.
OBVIOUSLY, THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE IS GOING TO HAVE THE HIGHEST TURNOVER.
JUST BECAUSE NOBODY WANTS TO WORK IN A JAIL. BUT WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE TREASURER OR THE ASSESSOR OR THE COUNTY JUDGE, THE CLERK, THOSE OTHER, THOSE OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS THAT.
I CAN RUN THOSE NUMBERS AND PROVIDE THANK YOU MA'AM, THANK YOU MS. MCGRATH APPRECIATE IT THANK YOU WILL WE HAVE ACCESS TO MCGRATH CONSULTING DIRECTLY AS WE REVIEW THIS INFORMATION AND HAVE QUESTIONS? THAT'S UP TO THE COUNTY JUDGE AND TO HR EITHER YOU GO THROUGH ONE OF THEM OR IF THEY GIVE YOU ACCESS TO ME, THAT'S FINE. BUT IT'S YOUR CALL AS TO WHAT YOUR NORMAL PROTOCOL IS.
THANK YOU IN THE PAST LIST OF YOUR QUESTIONS, WE CAN SEND THEM OFF.
THANK YOU I YIELD AND THIS MAY BE A CHASTITY QUESTION. I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHEN YOU GUYS DO EVALUATIONS, IS IT DONE ON A RUBRIC? I MEAN, DOES IS IT SIMILAR IN ALL DEPARTMENTS OR IS IT DIFFERENT? ASSISTANT OKAY OKAY THANK YOU WHAT WAS THE LAST TIME THIS WAS DONE? WHAT? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU EVER DID IT? SO LET'S, LET'S ORDER DINNER IN. YEAH. SO, SO THE LAST TIME WE DID A RESTART LIKE THIS WAS SEVEN YEARS AGO.
OKAY REASSESS THAT TABLE EVERY YEAR USING THE A CPI OR SOME OUTSIDE FACTOR IN RAISING EVERYTHING IN THERE EVERY YEAR OR IN LESS.
IT'S A YEAR WHERE SALARIES WENT DOWN. GOOD. AND WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG OR ACTUALLY SEND ME A TEXT LATER IF I'M WRONG [LAUGHTER]. IS EVERY TWO YEARS AND WE AGREED ON THE FRONT END THAT WOULD EVERY BE EVERY 2 TO 3 YEARS. WE STARTED DOING IT EVERY TWO YEARS. AND WHEN COVID HIT AND KIND OF LOCKED EVERYTHING DOWN AND FROZE EVERYTHING.
[01:10:06]
NEW COMPANY. AND THAT WAS JUST BECAUSE THE OLD COMPANY WE WERE USING HAD CHANGED HANDS AND BASICALLY GONE OUT OF BUSINESS FOR US.SO, SO WE HAD A DO OVER, WHICH IS A GREAT, I THINK, A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET A FRESH LOOK.
OKAY YEAH AND I THINK TOO A COUPLE OF THINGS I YOU KNOW, I'M NOT CASTING BLAME.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, OF BARGAINING ON WHERE POSITION PLACEMENT SHOULD BE VERSUS MAYBE FOLLOWING A SET OF GUIDELINES AND RULES, WHICH HAS KIND OF THROWN IT OUT OF OUT OF WHACK.
IT'S NOT AS COMPREHENSIVE AS THIS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ EVERY JOB DESCRIPTION AGAIN.
THANK GOD SOME POSITIONS HAVE GONE? I'LL USE THE TECHNICAL TERM WONKY IN THE MARKET AND IT NEEDS TO BE CHANGED IN, YOU KNOW, A PAY GRADE. ENGINEERS ARE A GREAT ONE.
AND I SAY 3 TO 5 YEARS BECAUSE IT'S REALLY GOING TO BE BASED UPON WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE ECONOMY.
YOU KNOW, BACK IN 2008, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DO IT FOR FIVE YEARS BECAUSE NOTHING WAS HAPPENING WITH THE ECONOMY. THE LAST 4 YEARS, IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN DOING ON A VERY REGULAR BASIS, YOU ARE GETTING BEHIND BECAUSE INFLATION WAS JUST EATING AWAY AT SALARIES.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S GOING TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOU NEED TO DO IT QUICKER VERSUS LATER.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. MCGRATH, FOR THIS VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION. APPRECIATE IT. JUSTICE STOWERS YOU'RE RECOGNIZED FOR QUESTIONS. VERY QUICK QUESTION, SIR.
CORRECT? AND SO WE ADJUSTED BASED ON THEIR UPDATED ANALYSIS.
SO ALTHOUGH THE INITIAL STUDY WAS SEVEN YEARS AGO, IT HAS BEEN THE ANALYSIS HAS BEEN UPDATED AND PROVIDED TO US PERIODICALLY IN THOSE SEVEN YEARS. AND HR CAN CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. I'M NOT SURE THEY DID IT TO THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE, BUT THEY DID IT TO POSITIONS THAT WERE BEING QUESTIONED, YOU KNOW, AND SO THEY WOULD RUN THEIR POINT FACTOR SYSTEM FOR POSITIONS AND THEN MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIFFERENT POSITION CHANGES.
I DON'T THINK YOU DID THE WHOLE I THINK THAT JUSTICE MASSEY WAS TRYING TO GET RECOGNIZED.
SHE PUT HER HAND DOWN, AND I ABOUT FORGOT. I JUST WANTED TO ASK IF WE HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONING.
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO COME BACK? SURE I CAN TRY TO COME BACK.
AND ADD AN. YEAH. AT OUR COMMITTEE MEETING? YEAH.
THANK YOU. THAT'D BE GREAT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN PRESENTED.
JUSTICE BLACKWOOD NOW, NOW YOU'RE RECOGNIZED.
AS FAR AS THE JOB DESCRIPTIONS THAT YOU GOT, WHEN WERE THOSE ORIGINALLY PUT IN? ARE THEY OLD JOB DESCRIPTIONS, NEW JOB DESCRIPTIONS? WHEN WERE THEY DONE? IT DEPENDS UPON THE DEPARTMENT.
I KNOW HR REACHED OUT TO ALL DEPARTMENTS PRIOR TO THE STUDY SAYING, YOU KNOW, IF YOU NEED ANY UPDATES IN YOUR JOB DESCRIPTIONS, PLEASE GET THEM TO US. SO THEY HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY.
I KNOW THAT BECAUSE SOME TRICKLED IN AFTER I GOT THE FIRST DUMP OF JOB DESCRIPTIONS.
HEY, THIS GROUP HAS NOW, YOU KNOW, FINISHED THESE.
SOME I THINK WE'RE PROBABLY OLD IN THE DEPARTMENTS.
DIDN'T TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY. TO REVISE THEM AND GIVE YOU A NEW JOB DESCRIPTION TO EVALUATE? OKAY. IF I MIGHT SO IT'S AN ANNUAL REQUEST. YOU ALL TAKE UP CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING BUDGET AND EITHER POSITION RECLASSIFICATION OR NEW POSITION CREATIONS ONCE A YEAR. SO THAT'S YOUR BUDGET RULES.
SO WE SEND OUT THAT SAME REQUEST EVERY YEAR, BASICALLY BEGGING ANYONE WHO'S GOT ANY JOB DESCRIPTION CHANGES TO BRING THEM TO HR AND LET US DO THEM. SOME DEPARTMENTS DO THEM, SOME DON'T.
SO IT'S, IT'S UPON THE, THE IT'S INCUMBENT UPON THE DIRECTOR TO BRING THAT INFORMATION TO HR.
[01:15:05]
WE DO NOT LOOK AT 400 AND SOME ODD JOB POSITIONS EVERY YEAR UNLESS REQUESTED.600 [LAUGHTER] THANK YOU FOR THAT SO ANYWAY, IT WOULD TAKE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIME.
AND THERE, THERE DEFINITELY. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAD TO REWRITE THOSE.
SO ACCORDING SO EACH DIRECTOR, EACH DIRECTOR HAS THIS STAGGERING JOB? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TO ME? IF THEY HAVE HAD A REORGANIZATION WITHIN THEIR DEPARTMENT IF THEY'VE MOVED PEOPLE AROUND, IF THEY'VE REORGANIZED OR THEY JUST LOOK AT THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION AND THEY SAY, OH, MAGGIE NEVER SUPERVISED BEFORE, OR MAGGIE WAS REQUIRED TO GO TO TAKE THE CIRCUIT CLERK, FOR INSTANCE, THEY WERE REQUIRED TO GO TO FIVE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS AND DO X, Y, AND Z, BUT THEY NO LONGER DO THAT.
SO IT'S JUST ANOTHER STEP. IT'S THE SAME PROCESS AS BEFORE AND IT'S DONE ONCE A YEAR.
OKAY THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE ON THAT THEY ARE AND THEY SAY THEY'RE NOT APPROVED YET BY THE QUORUM COURT.
SINCE THEY WERE ON THE DOCKET TO BE LOOKED AT, WE PLACED THEM IN THE SALARY SCHEDULE, BUT OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE HIGHLIGHTED THAT THEY'RE THERE, BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO APPROVE THEM OR NOT APPROVE THEM.
OKAY. COULD PEOPLE ACTUALLY LOSE MONEY OR GAIN MONEY IN THIS? I MEAN, LOSE SALARY IN THIS WE APPROVED THIS? WANT TO MAKE SURE. YEAH. AND BECAUSE THE SALARY RANGE IS SHIFTED.
I DON'T HAVE ANYBODY THAT WE WOULD CONSIDER TO BE RED CIRCLED.
THAT MEANS THEY'RE ABOVE THAT NEW MARKET RATE.
OKAY THANK YOU SO MUCH. NOW, TAKING THE MONEY AWAY USUALLY DOESN'T SELL [LAUGHTER] JUST SAYING NO, NOT A GOOD THING THANK YOU GO BACK AND SPEND THE NEXT FEW DAYS ABSORBING THIS INFORMATION.
THAT TO ELEVATE ALL THESE SALARIES REQUIRES ADDITIONAL REVENUE.
WELL, I DIDN'T MEAN THIS FOR THAT, BUT OKAY [LAUGHTER]. JUST SAYING I APPRECIATE I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR EFFORT AND COMPLIMENT YOUR COMPANY AND YOUR PROFESSIONALISM.
THANK YOU. AND I'M PRETTY SURE YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM US AGAIN.
NO PROBLEM THANK YOU EXCELLENT DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS JUST HERE AT THE BAR? THERE BEING NONE. WE'LL MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENT. IS MS. GULLEY STILL HERE? SHE WAS SIGNED UP TO MAKE COMMENTS. I DON'T SEE HER IN THE AUDIENCE.
[Public Comment ]
I THINK SHE LEFT. MS. BRENDA HENSON? I'M SORRY HANG ON LET US GET THAT ON. WILL YOU TAP IT? JUST TURN IT ON[01:20:07]
OKAY. THERE YOU GO. THANK YOU I'M BRENDA HENSON, AND I LIVE, OF COURSE, IN THE COUNTY.MY QUESTION IS REALLY RELATED TO THE CHANGE IN LAW OF THE EXTRA JURISDICTION.
TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION. MY QUESTION IS TO QUORUM COURT.
AS I UNDERSTAND IT, WE ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE CITY FIVE MILE UP CONTROL.
MY CONCERN IS THAT RESIDENTS IN THE COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS DID HAVE SOME SENSE OF SECURITY AND WHAT COULD OR COULD NOT HAPPEN OR MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN.
BUT NOW, IF MY QUESTION TO THE QUORUM COURT, IS THERE A TIMELINE OR PLAN FOR SOME GUIDELINES THAT PROTECT PROPERTY OWNERS FROM PEOPLE DOING WHATEVER THEY CARE TO DO? FOR EXAMPLE THERE WAS SOME ORDINANCES AGAINST CREATING DUMP SITES.
AND ALSO, YOU COULDN'T JUST ESTABLISH ANY LEAN TO OR HUT OR MOVE ANYTHING THAT YOU IN THAT YOU WANTED TO DO, BECAUSE IT AFFECTS MY PROPERTY WHEN PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT.
SO I WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE ARE SOME TIMELINE.
THE QUORUM COURT IS PLANNING FOR SOME GUIDELINES THAT COUNTY RESIDENTS CAN LOOK TO? AND SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A SENSE THAT OUR RIGHTS AS PROPERTY OWNERS ARE NOT IMPEDED, BUT ALSO PROTECTED.
SO, MA'AM, THE QUORUM COURT CALLED A SPECIAL MEETING TWO WEEKS AGO, I THINK TWO WEEKS AGO NOW, JUST TO CONSIDER THAT AFTER THE ETJS WERE DISSOLVED.
SO THEY ARE BACK IN PLACE. THEY'RE IN PLACE FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT FIVE AND A HALF MONTHS.
THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN TRYING TO WORK THROUGHOUT THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OUTSIDE THE ETJS IN DOING A LAND USE STUDY AND TAKING THAT INITIAL STEP TO HOPEFULLY GUIDE THE RESIDENTS OF THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS IN MAKING DECISIONS IN THOSE COMMUNITIES ON WHAT THEY WANT TO PREVENT, WHERE THEY WANT TO PREVENT IT AND WHAT THEY WANT TO ALLOW AND WHAT THEY WANT TO GUIDE TO SPECIFIC AREAS. SO THE PLANNING BOARD IS WHERE THAT PROCESS IS REALLY TAKING PLACE.
I DON'T KNOW, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE DONE WITH THAT.
IN THIS FIVE AND A HALF MONTH PERIOD THIS COURT IS GOING TO HAVE TO CONSIDER WHETHER THEY WANT TO EXTEND THAT PLACEMENT OF THE OLD ETJ REGULATIONS, THE DISCUSSION OF THE DEGREE OF REGULATION THAT THE RESIDENTS WANT TO ACCEPT AND THE COURT WANTS TO APPLY IS GOING TO BE A LONG PROCESS, A LONG DISCUSSION.
THE LITTLE ROCK CITY CODE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS CURRENTLY 300.
CORRECT ME, TRAVIS, 329 PAGES LONG? THAT'S A LOT OF REGULATION.
BUT IT'S A IT'S A PROCESS THAT THE COMMUNITY IS GOING TO HAVE TO ENGAGE IN OR HOPEFULLY IS GOING TO ENGAGE IN AND HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS OF WHAT THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE IN THIS PART OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD AND WHERE IT'S OKAY TO FOR THAT TO BE LOCATED.
IT'S A PRETTY COMPLEX, AND IT'S GOING TO BE A PRETTY LONG CONVERSATION.
I UNDERSTAND THAT, AND I UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY THAT INVOLVES, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL IF COUNTY RESIDENTS COULD RECEIVE SOMETHING FROM THE QUORUM COURT, OR JUST A BLURB OR AN ANNOUNCEMENT OR SOMETHING TO SAY THAT YOU'RE IN THE PROCESS.
MEANWHILE POTENTIAL BAD ACTORS, BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE SOME.
THEY'RE FAST [LAUGHTER]. THAT THEY CANNOT JUST DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO.
SO SOME KIND OF GUIDELINE, SOME KIND OF WORD, SOMETHING THAT CAN BE SENT OUT TO COUNTY RESIDENTS WOULD BE REASSURING THAT THE QUORUM COURT IS ON THE JOB. SO THE QUORUM COURT IS ON THE JOB, I ASSURE YOU AND.
BUT LET US KNOW IF THEY CALL A SPECIAL MEETING AND ATTEND THAT SPECIAL MEETING.
BUT IN CASE I CAN'T MAKE THAT SPECIAL MEETING? I'M ASKING, COULD THERE BE SOME KIND OF COMMUNICATION? I'M GONNA TELL YOU
[01:25:06]
OUTLETS. THAT INFORMATION IS PUSHED OUT THERE, ESPECIALLY NOTICES AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES IN PROGRESS MADE IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE NEWSWORTHY ARE ALL PUBLISHED THERE. AND IF YOU VISIT OUR WEBSITE YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GO TO NEWS. I THINK THERE'S A BUTTON THERE TO HIT FOR NEWS AND GET A COPY OF EVERYTHING THAT THE COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT HAS RELEASED IN THE RECENT TIME FRAME. AND THEN YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER ATTENDING PLANNING BOARD MEETINGS IN THE FUTURE. THIS BOARD THIS BODY MEETS ON THE 4TH TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH.THE PLANNING BOARD MEETS IN THIS SAME ROOM ON THE 4TH TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH AT 2 P.M.
BEEN THERE, I'VE BEEN THERE, I'LL BE COMING. BUT LET ME JUST SUGGEST THIS TO YOU.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY NOT KNOW HOW MANY SENIOR PEOPLE YOU HAVE IN THE COUNTY WHO DON'T DO ALL THOSE THINGS, I TELL MY GRANDKIDS, DON'T SEND ME A TEXT, PICK UP A PHONE, CALL ME.
I'LL GO TO THE WEBSITE, BUT NOT EVERYBODY EVEN HAS ACCESS.
JUST A WORD, BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. MR. PLANNING FOR MEETING JUDGE, I BELIEVE ADAM HAD SOMETHING THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT IS A PRETTY SMALL STAFF.
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING IN THE UNINCORPORATED COUNTY THAT YOU'RE CONCERNED MAY NOT BE CONSISTENT WITH THE DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS OR WHAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE. PLEASE CALL PUBLIC WORKS AT 3406800.
SOMEBODY CAN CORRECT ME IF THAT NUMBER IS WRONG.
SO THAT WOULD BE INCREDIBLY HELPFUL CAN I SAY SOMETHING? THANK YOU MA'AM. WENDELL GRIFFIN, YOU'RE HERE TO GIVE A PUBLIC COMMENT? AND SO, MR. GRIFFIN, I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO REMOVE YOUR CAMPAIGN INFORMATION THAT THAT'S NOT ALLOWED ON THE COUNTY PROPERTY.
OH, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THAT WAS A FREE SPEECH PROBLEM [LAUGHTER]. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A FREE SPEECH LAW, BUT IT'S POLICY THAT'S MAINTAINED HERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH JUDGE HYDE MY NAME IS WENDELL GRIFFIN.
I'M GLAD YOU RECOGNIZE ME. I AM HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE VERY ISSUE THAT MS. HENSON BROUGHT UP. THE EXTRA, EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION PROBLEM.
I PAUSE FOR EFFECT. THE LAW THAT ENDED EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION HAD 140 DAY TIME THAT PEOPLE COULD TAKE ACTION.
THAT'S FOUR AND TWO THIRDS MONTHS. OR, AS WE SAY BACK HOME, THAT'S FOUR MONTHS IN CHANGE.
THAT'S AN ENTIRE BASKETBALL SEASON FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
IF THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT OF THE PULASKI COUNTY HAD BEEN ON ITS GAME.
IT COULD HAVE INITIATED EXTRA EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION PLANNING EFFORTS IN APRIL, WHICH IS THE 4TH MONTH. THIS IS AUGUST THE 8TH MONTH, AND THAT PLANNING EFFORT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO PROTECT THE CITIZENS AND THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS FROM THE VERY ISSUES THAT MS. HENSON AND ALL OF THE OCCUPANTS OF THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT.
THAT WAS NOT DONE. IT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE. HAD IT BEEN DONE, THERE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A NEED TO HAVE AN EXTRA 6 MONTHS TO WAIT. BUT EVEN IF YOU HAD, THEN YOU'D HAVE HAD 6 MONTHS ON TOP OF THE 4 MONTHS, WHICH IS 10 MONTHS. THE 4 MONTHS THAT WERE LOST CANNOT BE REGAINED.
[01:30:02]
BUT THE DAMAGE THAT HAS BEEN DONE IS DAMAGE THAT THE PEOPLE IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS ARE LIVING WITH NOW AND CANNOT BE FIXED BY SELLING THEM TO GO TO A MEETING. I SAY THIS FOR THIS REASON.PART OF THE JOB OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IS TO NOT ONLY FIX WHAT PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT, BUT TO PROJECT WHAT CAN BE A PROBLEM. FORESIGHT IS IN THE DICTIONARY FOR A REASON.
WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AHEAD AND SEE DOWN THE ROAD AND SEE PROBLEMS ARE HAPPENING.
WE KNEW AS EARLY AS FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR THAT THERE WAS LEGISLATION BEING INTRODUCED IN THE ARKANSAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO END EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION FOR THE STATE. WE KNEW AS EARLY AS APRIL THAT LEGISLATION THAT HAD PASSED.
THERE IS NO REASON WHY THAT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANTICIPATED, PLANNING EFFORTS BEGUN, MEETINGS HELD WITH THE PEOPLE IN UNINCORPORATED AREAS, AND A MORATORIUM IMPOSED UNTIL THE PLANNING PROCESS GOT DONE TO AT LEAST AT 3 MINUTES YOU HELD ME TO 3 MINUTES. THANK YOU WE'RE ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.