Committee approves retroactive step-up pay for County Executive administrative assistant

The Portage County Human Resources Committee approved a retroactive step-up pay request for the County Executive Administrative Assistant after reviewing duties performed during a Justice Programs Director vacancy from Sept. 23, 2024, through Feb. 27, 2025.

Committee members heard that the Justice Programs Director is a single-person department and, after the vacancy, duties were distributed across several staff and departments. County officials said the County Executive asked the administrative assistant (Jane) to perform many of the department’s functions, including grant communications and coordination with the Department of Corrections and drug‑court partners, while the vacancy persisted. Committee staff said they reviewed the work performed, consulted with court counsel and the County Executive’s office, and concluded the assistant met criteria for the temporary step-up pay that applies when an employee performs the majority of a vacant department-head’s duties beyond an interim period.

The committee moved and seconded a resolution to approve the step-up pay retroactively for the dates specified; the motion carried by voice vote. Staff noted that the county’s practice is to grant step-up pay to interim department heads who serve beyond 30 days, but this case differed because there was no designated interim department head at the time and the pay decision is being made after the fact. The approval followed an internal review of duties performed and consultation with court counsel and the County Executive’s office.

Committee members emphasized the extent of duties performed—grant reporting, communications with partner agencies and preparing materials for the incoming Justice Programs Director—as supporting the pay change. The committee did not specify the dollar amount of the step-up pay in the public discussion; action was recorded as approved.