County staff recommend 2% market adjustment to pay ranges and bring employee recognition policy to resolution

Patsy Cresswell, director of the Department of Talent & People Services, recommended the Board of County Commissioners approve a 2% market adjustment to the county’s pay grade ranges and asked the board to place a formal employee recognition policy on a resolution for final approval.

Cresswell said the county recently approved a 2.8% cost‑of‑living increase and that moving the market pay ranges by an additional 2% preserves an approximately 0.8 percentage‑point buffer between existing employees’ pay and entry pay for newly hired employees. “The primary goal of a market salary adjustment is to move the pay plans in a positive upward direction in an effort to remain competitive with other similar agencies,” Cresswell said. She told commissioners that failing to keep pay ranges current year‑to‑year can create a larger backlog of market‑adjustment costs, as the county experienced following an earlier Gallagher analysis.

Cresswell summarized the market‑analysis sources the department uses—Payscale, Salary.com, WorldatWork, the Consumer Price Index, peer county surveys and other employer‑cost indices—and noted particular recruitment and retention pressures for law enforcement, social workers and heavy equipment mechanics. She recommended the board adopt a 2% movement of the pay ranges and asked that the board finalize the decision before the end of the month so the market adjustment could be implemented concurrently with the recently approved cost‑of‑living adjustment.

On employee recognition, Cresswell presented a written policy draft that formalizes employee‑of‑the‑month/year awards, outstanding group efforts, outstanding community service, an on‑the‑spot “STAR” (support, teamwork, attitude, recognition) award, and a life‑saving award (already used in two incidents). She also described the county’s employee appreciation events, including an annual picnic scheduled for June 4 at the Pueblo Zoo and other wellness and ticketed drawing events for employees.

Commissioners agreed to place the employee recognition policy on a future resolution for final approval and asked staff to bring the proposed 2% market pay‑range movement to final action before month‑end so payroll changes could align with the COLA.

Ending: The board gave staff direction to place both items on a future resolution; no final vote was taken at the work session.