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Commission approves jail maintenance hire; discussion continues over supervision, pay steps and background checks
Summary
Commission discussed hiring an experienced maintenance worker for the new jail and adding jail-specific maintenance positions. Commissioners approved the hire but asked for clarification on pay step increases, required qualifications, and whether positions should be formally assigned under the sheriff or county property management.
The St. Clair County Commission reviewed and approved hiring a maintenance worker for the new jail building and discussed two maintenance positions assigned to the jail.
County property manager Roddy Wolf and General Administrator Philip Bernard presented the personnel request to hire Jeremy Boland at a higher pay step because he was described as having about 20 years of relevant experience. Commissioners expressed concern about bringing a new hire in four steps above entry level and asked for a clear public justification to explain why the higher step was necessary. Commissioners also asked staff to confirm the candidate’s trade qualifications; the candidate was described as having plumbing and facility-electronics experience but not HVAC certification.
Commissioners and staff discussed how the two maintenance employees assigned to the jail should be classified and supervised. Some commissioners said those employees were being supervised operationally through the jail’s system and recommended they be transferred to sheriff’s department payroll and supervision so that background checks and timekeeping line up with sheriff operations. The sheriff’s office indicated it would run required background checks for jail employees.
The commission approved the hire to take effect the next pay period subject to standard pre-employment checks and advised staff to bring a formal proposal on supervision and payroll assignment back to the commission for final action. Commissioners asked staff to run a compensation survey to help set equitable pay steps and reduce internal salary compression between new hires and existing employees.
Ending: Commissioners directed county staff to confirm background checks, provide written justification for any above-entry pay step hires, and return with a formal proposal for whether jail maintenance positions should be transferred to sheriff supervision and payroll.
