The Dunn County Board of Commissioners adopted a revised merit pay table aimed at slowing wage progression for employees grouped in the mid‑range of their pay scales while keeping somewhat faster progression for new hires. Jesse (title: HR presenter) said the middle two columns — where about 74% of employees fall — were adjusted downward to curve progression through the pay range more gradually. Using last year’s performance review results, county staff estimated the average merit increase under the previous table would have been 2.88 percent; under the revised table the modeled average is 2.26 percent, a difference of approximately $620 per employee on average. The board approved the proposed merit table on a roll call vote. Jesse emphasized that the merit program is performance‑based and that the county is in its fourth year of conducting merit increases tied to performance evaluations; the underlying pay ranges were originally developed using consultant data from a 2019 Gallagher study but the merit table itself was developed locally and is not part of that vendor study. Commissioners discussed prior large adjustments made to bring some employees to market‑based minimums and said those historic corrections explained some larger one‑time increases in earlier years. The board directed HR to use the revised table for the next merit cycle and to continue to monitor salary progressions.
