Dodge County’s Human Resources Committee voted to approve a proposal to add a $2-per-hour weekend shift differential and time-and-a-half holiday pay for seasonal parks staff, to be implemented in the 2026 budget year.

The committee approved the change after hearing from Land Resources and Parks staff that the pay change is aimed at retention for seasonal workers who regularly work nights, weekends and holidays. The committee’s motion, made by Don and seconded by Mary, passed with no recorded opposition.

Why it matters: committee members said the pay change seeks to reduce turnover among seasonal workers who staff parks on busy weekends and holidays; staff said park reservation revenues can cover the additional cost and that payroll/IT configuration will require lead time.

Parks staff presented the request, describing the work conditions and turnover risk. The proposal called for a $1-per-hour differential originally but, during discussion, committee members recommended $2 to align more closely with differentials in other county areas. Parks staff said the change would primarily affect 10 seasonal employees, with four receiving the bulk of the differential because of typical schedules. Staff estimated the additional direct payroll cost at roughly $15.74 in the parks’ operating budget (presented as the extra cost per schedule scenario), and said reservation fees and park revenues would cover the increase.

“I am here representing our seasonal staff … we have good staff in the parks, and I’d like to basically take care of them and staff retention,” Parks staff said, describing weekend and holiday duties that include cleanup and public contact. Parks staff told the committee that caretakers no longer live on-site and that weekend duties include work of varying lengths (four to eight hours).

Committee members noted other county departments have weekend differentials (Clearview, sheriff’s office, highway) and discussed consistency across county pay practices. Committee staff said IT must be given advanced notice to implement payroll configuration changes across positions and that HR will draft a policy for the next meeting.

The committee voted on a motion by Don, seconded by Mary, “to approve the $2 shift differential for the parks’ part-time employees and time-and-a-half for holidays.” The motion carried. Staff said the change will be included in the 2026 budget and would take effect Jan. 1 if the budget is approved. HR will return a written policy for formal adoption at a subsequent meeting.