Walworth County’s Human Resources Committee on June 18 approved forwarding two ordinance amendments to the county board that update personnel-related definitions in the county code and restore language governing promotion and certification procedures in sheriff’s department hiring.

The committee approved proposed changes to the county code section that defines personnel actions such as reclassification and retitling, which county staff said are wording clarifications with no budget impact. HR staff described the revisions as aligning definitions with current practice: reclassification will be described as assigning a position to a different pay range to reflect shifts in duties, and “retitle” is added to clarify changes to job titles. The committee moved the ordinance to the July county board meeting.

Members also considered an amendment to the code governing promotions and eligibility lists for law enforcement positions. The memorandum from the undersheriff and draft ordinance restore promotional-process language removed in a 2023 repeal of civil service language; the draft adds a clause that, should internal and external recruitment not produce three qualified candidates for an eligibility list, “the names of all candidates certified shall be provided to the sheriff for consideration of appointment,” to prevent repeated reposting and hiring delays. A motion to approve the draft promotion ordinance passed at the committee meeting.

Committee members raised the possibility of adaptive testing accommodations for written examinations — for example, for applicants with dyslexia — but agreed that any change would require reconciling promotional-process language with existing job descriptions and minimum qualifications. The committee asked staff to research accommodation language and how it would interact with law enforcement job requirements; members agreed to move the current draft forward to avoid delaying hires while staff completes that research.

Both ordinance amendments were forwarded to the county board for consideration; the committee recorded the motions and carried them without roll-call vote at the June 18 meeting.