Chairperson Stutsman called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:06 a.m. Members present were: Charles Duffy, Jonathan Jordahl, Mike Lehman, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

Shramek said there is no current formal process for job reclassification requests. She explained that in the past departments requested money under individual budgets for consideration at budget time. She said a few concerns are that if the Board approves those funds, a message is sent that the Board approves the reclassification or it sends a message to the employee or public, which may not be the case. She said the money could be approved and spent on other means, not necessarily personnel. Shramek said the Board has said that personnel dollars are to be spent for personnel only, but she is not sure how that relates to elected officials’ budgets. She said the Board needs to look at this, do a little research and recommend a policy. Shramek said the technology budget is centralized and she doesn’t know if any other counties have a centralized personnel budget and doesn’t feel it’s necessary. Shramek mentioned that most of the requested reclassifications are not significant amounts of money.

Shramek said she contacted Linn County Employment Relations Director Trudy Elliot, and asked her how they handle job reclassifications. Shramek said that Elliot told her their reclassification requests are absorbed in their budget because there are 2 types of reclassifications that can go through. Shramek said one is voluntary; employees ask if someone will look at their job and see if they’re classified correctly. Shramek said last year there were 2 requests, one in the County Attorney’s Office and one in the Information Services Department. Shramek said the 2nd way reclassifications can go through is with a grievance, union and non-union. She said that if it’s found that the employee is not classified correctly then we have to come up with that money. She said those things are not budgeted for because you can’t really budget for grievances since they are hard to predict. Shramek said that Elliot told her that on occasion, unless the department head contacts Employment Relations first and conducts the desk audit in advance they know if it’s approved and what the dollar figure will be exactly.

Jordahl asked what the interest is in this and if there is some request for reclassification that they are aware of but not sure how it will come out. Stutsman said they have 2 requests for reclassifications from departments as far as their budget requests. She said in their Tuesday discussion, they considered if this is the route they want to go, and asked Lora to come in to give some historical perspective or some direction on what kind of approach the Board should take. She said it sounds like most of these requests are not huge and it couldn’t be taken care of through the department’s budget or through a budget amendment, in a case like a grievance. Shramek said in Linn County, their finance people view it as padding the budget if those monies are requested in advance. She said if you go through the reclassification process and it isn’t approved by Human Resources and the Board, then why tax for those dollars. She said that even if the reclassification is approved, maybe it wasn’t conducted until the end of the Fiscal Year. She said that instead of the, maybe $5,000 requested, what actually is spent is maybe $500.

Jordahl said they are talking about process. He said the question of these requests coming as part of a budget request is asking them to approve the reclassification as part of the budget. He said there should be a different process for approving reclassification. Shramek said she is not familiar with some of the cases. She said County Recorder Kim Painter spoke of a reclassification request for the Recorder’s Office, a Clerk. She said she didn’t know of the one in Public Health. Stutsman said the Board wants a process because they are constantly fussing with the idea of what a reclassification is, a promotion or a legitimate reclassification. She said they have to be clear on that because it is a serious procedure. She said they spent time with the salary survey and if they continue to reclassify then the survey holds no credence or credibility anymore. Shramek said she conducted several last year after the institution of the non-bargaining unit pay plan and it is due to a lot of reclassifications, which were all budgeted for. She said now those have tapered off to just one or 2.

Shramek said the other consideration the Board should look at, as well as new positions is, is there a procedure for new positions. She said she recommended last year that they require or ask for a draft job description in the budgeting process so it is known exactly what is being funded. Shramek said this is what SEATS Director Lisa Dewey did with her reorganization request. She said Dewey drafted job descriptions and they ran them through the job evaluation process and came up with a pay grade so Dewey had a very good figure to present. Stutsman said they do have somewhat of a procedure for new positions with the budget and form to fill out. Thompson said that you have to guess at the pay grade with the form. Thompson said they could require people to attach a job description. Shramek said she is talking about a draft job description, not one that has to be finalized, but just so the duties are known. Jordahl asked why they couldn’t have a final job description since they can have whatever process they want. He said if they want new positions approved or at least the form of the position finalized before they approve it as part of the budget, they can. He asked what the argument is for not going through all of that process first and what process would be reasonable. Shramek said she doesn’t know if a final draft is needed and there would be plenty of time to finalize it. Stutsman said it seems like a draft at this budget process would be appropriate and to include all of the elements in the regular job description. Jordahl said this is so they can actually let them know what they are talking about for budget implications. He said this is a very reasonable expectation. Shramek said she is talking about new positions in the union and if it’s a brand new position the union has a right to bargain those wages. Thompson said a lot of the new positions that are being asked for are additions to old positions.

Stutsman said that in bargaining they never hear of a new position that is going through the bargaining process. She said it’s management positions that they get requests for during the budget process. Thompson said they would add another person in an old classification, but they hardly ever add a classification in a union contract. Stutsman said it can happen but it wouldn’t be part of the budgeting process. Jordahl asked if this is what they are talking about in Health when they change the percentage of that job to 50% computer operator. Stutsman said that was a reclassification. Shramek said those 2 classifications already exist. Shramek asked if the Auditor’s request for Account Clerk III would be it. Deputy Administrative Assistant Deana Pillard said it would be a brand new position and they want to reclassify an Account Clerk II to an Account Clerk III. Thompson said this one is a good example.

Thompson asked if there is a form for employees to fill out for a job reclassification, and Shramek said yes. Shramek said either the department head or the employee can request the reclassification or desk audit, but then she has the same procedure with the employee and they fill out the request form asking specific questions about their job. She said she has questions she asks the direct supervisor. Shramek said she does the job observation for a minimum of 2 hours but prefers half a day or a whole day depending on the type of job, splitting those up to catch a couple of different days. Thompson asked if at that point the Board approves it or she approves it. Shramek said when they are union positions she recommends them to County Attorney Pat White and then he communicates that to the union representative and if they are non-union positions she comes before the Board with the new list of job titles and pay grades.

Thompson asked if this applies to someone being reclassified to an existing classification, like Lawyer I to Lawyer II. Shramek said those are handled within the department, a promotion. Jordahl said they have a request to put $15,000 or so into the Attorney’s budget for those reclassifications without specification of what those reclassifications are. Thompson said it is a practice sometimes where you have a position where you invest a lot in training to have an automatic promotion, like at the end of one year you go to an Attorney II and at the end of 3 years you go to an Attorney III. Shramek said White has a progression where he looks at someone after a year, another year and then it spans out. Shramek said they have 5 levels of Assistant County Attorney for that reason. Thompson said she would like to see the positions that require that designated on the pay scale so that it would be fair for everybody. Shramek said she is not involved in White’s promotions because it is based on criteria that he has established. Jordahl said the pay grade and amount of the increment is a known thing, so the idea of a fudge factor of $15,000 to do with what you will in terms or reclassification could be expressed in terms of the steps that we expect to see. Thompson asked if it is a requirement to be an Attorney II that you’ve already been a I for a year. Shramek said that she doesn’t think he has ever hired anybody into anything higher than a I, because he likes to get a little training within the Johnson County Attorney’s Office.

Duffy said they are getting into a projected budget. He said they have a yearly budget, which they should have, but a big item for him would be to have not only a yearly budget but one that isn’t set in stone projected 2 years or maybe 3. He said budget amendments are kind of frowned on and they shouldn’t have too many except in emergencies. He said he would like to see projecting another year or 2 in advance. Shramek said it puts the Board at a disadvantage and it’s kind of unfair to make decisions on reclassifications that there isn’t all of the information for. Stutsman said it is giving the approval before the process is completed.

Thompson said she wants to discuss the process more. She said the employee fills out the form, the Board does the desk audit, Human Resources recommends that the Board approve it. She asked if the department would absorb the expense in the rest of this year’s budget, if this occurs in March and the budget is done for next year. Stutsman said she thinks this is a policy decision the Board needs to make if they want to do it that way or do a budget amendment. Thompson said that would make sense when they approve it. Shramek said you would have to if it came through a grievance. Jordahl said you would do a budget amendment in the have to mode but there is no point in planning to do a budget amendment because this is the time when they are doing the budget. He said if they think the reclassification is going to occur mid-year then put aside half of it and if they aren’t certain it’s going to happen, then don’t put the money there and tell the department they have to absorb it. Jordahl said they are going to have to tell people to wait for something so they might as well wait for this. Shramek said that as a department head you know how much money you have and might not initiate the process until a certain time of the year.

Stutsman said there is a reason for budget amendments and that is for the unexpected things that come up that aren’t anticipated during the regular process. She said they are never going to be in a position where they don’t have budget amendments. She said it’s part of predicting 18 months out in a budget process. Jordahl said he agrees there is a balance to strike, but disagrees that the idea of reclassifying positions when presented as part of the budget process is a place where they will have to bend over backwards to not have them. He said the department head will know that they’re going to reclassify this position and get in done in a timely way before the process starts, or wait a year because this is the way the budget process works.

Thompson said this leaves the matter of the ones they know will get increases, like White’s employees. She asked if it would be possible to figure those accurately at the budget time since he knows how many attorneys he has. Stutsman said it is based on evaluations so he doesn’t know how someone will perform. Shramek said that White needs to predict how his people will perform and budget accordingly. Thompson said that Shramek has to do this when she budgets for the merit increases. Stutsman said they just pick a 2% increase and then it is up to the departments how to allocate that.

Jordahl said he doesn’t see why White’s is a different category from any other department. He said he has different divisions but there is no less obligation to estimate the budget. Stutsman said that was a policy decision the Board made when they agreed that there are some exceptions with attorneys due to the amount of time, effort, and training and that he should have this flexibility with his budget to acknowledge and allow for that. Jordahl asked if it works that way for Secondary Roads with Gardner and his assistants who are professionals, not deputies, and how are their rates classified. Shramek said there aren’t levels. She said Assistant County Attorney is the only one that they have multiple levels for. Jordahl asked if she means in addition to the regular pay scale. Pillard said they stay in one classification and once they are maxed out within that classification they can’t go to another.

Jordahl asked where the $15,000 request from White came from and what is it based on. Stutsman said it is a policy decision the Board made last year and put in the budget. Thompson said that earlier Shramek said if White just has that in his budget and chooses not to give the raises, then he has money to do something else with and the next year he needs more money then they should probably leave it outside the budget. Stutsman said she thinks the Board made a decision acknowledging the tremendous work and expertise done at the County Attorneys Office and White wanted a way to acknowledge those working 40, 50, 60 hours a week on a regular basis, not just during the busy season. She said these people are putting in a tremendous amount of hours and gaining a tremendous amount of knowledge and this was just an opportunity to acknowledge that. Thompson asked if they know how much of the $15,000 from last year has been spent this year. Shramek said she doesn’t believe that any has. Stutsman said that the best thing might be for Jordahl to sit down with White and ask him why he feels this is appropriate. Jordahl said he thinks they all should. Thompson said she thinks there is probably a better number out there than $15,000 and if it’s $13,000 that little bit of difference will just go into the carry over. Thompson asked if they want to put it in White’s budget or not. Stutsman said she doesn’t want to. Duffy said he thinks they’d then have to do it for the rest of the budget.

Duffy said he thinks White hires lawyers very cheap starting out and perhaps that has something to do with this. Shramek said this is one of the things they are addressing with the new pay plan is to get the starting wage up. Thompson said the lawyers were making less than Social Workers. Jordahl said he is not saying to pay their lawyers less and that they don’t work hard but he wants to know the system. Stutsman said Jordahl is a part of this decision. Thompson said they decided what they needed to decide this morning. Jordahl said right now he does not know whether the request they are talking about approving is to put $15,000 in White’s budget or to put $15,000 in Department 18 for use for the purposes White wants it in his budget or something else. Duffy said he wouldn’t do anything because they can always pass a budget amendment. Stutsman said at least 3 Supervisors want to keep it in 18 at the same amount for White and his department based on evaluations. Thompson said she would be pleased with a more accurate number. Jordahl asked if they will have to do a budget amendment mid-year to give any raises that White approves or can they be paid directly out of 18. Stutsman said this is a good question. Pillard said it’s part of the budget amendment and the money is taken out of 18.

Thompson asked how they do the merits. Shramek said amendments. Jordahl said that if they had it in personnel department it could be 18 and all salaries could be paid out of this. Duffy said he isn’t sure all people working here should be paid out of Department 18. Jordahl said that if that is one extreme possibility then maybe one intermediate possibility is to allow these kinds of incremental meteor classifications to come out of 18. Thompson said that is basically what they are saying, because this is the point where Shramek brings it to them and they decide if it will get an amendment, which means it would come out of some other place in the budget or be absorbed in the department’s budget.

Stutsman said they need to be direct with department heads to begin with and tell them it needs to be absorbed in their budget if they are going to do a reclassification if it’s out of the budget process. She said otherwise they will come in and ask. Jordahl asked why White is in a different category. Stutsman said because they budgeted for White’s already. Thompson said they may designate other positions also, but so far White’s are the only ones they have. Jordahl asked if this process would be available for other departments. Duffy said he didn’t think so. Shramek said that White’s aren’t really reclassifications but promotions and she would not be involved in determining whether someone is moving up. Thompson said that if they take all of theirs out and don’t put any in the budget and just tell the department heads they can apply to Shramek then she will bring them to the Board if she has to. Stutsman said reclassifications will have to be brought to the Board for approval. Stutsman asked if they want it absorbed in their budgets unless it’s a grievance matter, or do they want to decide when the reclassification comes forward whether it’ll be a budget amendment or be absorbed. Thompson said she thinks they should decide and if it’s a lot and really wanted then amend for it. Stutsman said that the direction to the department heads will be that at the time of approval it will be determined if it’s going to be absorbed in their budget or be an amendment.

Stutsman asked Shramek to write the reclassification process out so that they are all clear what it is. Thompson said that when it’s presented, take time to talk about why it’s appropriate to do a reclassification so that people don’t just think it’s a reward to a good employee. Jordahl said the Board should take a stand as to when it can be done. Thompson said they can do it whenever, as long as they follow the rules. Stutsman said it may coincide with the budget process and they can reevaluate it then. Jordahl said there would be an incentive to say to do it in a regular way if they said when it’s done during the budget process it’s paid for and done outside of the budget process the department pays for. Stutsman said there is still a process it has to go through and it becomes a matter of timing whether it will coincide. Stutsman said she thinks the message should be sent that reclassifications should be few and far between since it takes time.

Shramek said the entry level wages for non-union positions, like in the Auditor’s Office, start from $8.00 to $8.50, which if an increase is warranted, she wants the Board to know that this will be a benchmark for everybody else within the rest of the County. She said a precedence is set when a decision is made and implications may arise in years to come. Thompson said that they may want to just drop off the pay grade that starts at too low of a wage and that would be when there aren’t anymore people in that group or only a few. Shramek said she understands that this is for temporary positions. She said it would affect permanent positions if they were that low. Thompson said there are a few in Senior Dining.

(Continued in Part 2)