Carroll County HR urges attention to tight labor market, unveils new job-classification plan

Carroll County Director of Human Resources Christie Bixler told county commissioners on Monday that the county is operating in a tight labor market, with low unemployment, rising compensation costs and local inflation that together make recruiting and retaining employees a continuing challenge.

Bixler presented hiring and vacancy numbers, consumer price (CPI) and compensation trends, and a multi-year position‑description and classification project that county staff say will produce separate pay scales for exempt and nonexempt staff and reduce inconsistencies in how positions are classified.

The presentation matters because commissioners will use the information as they consider wage increases and other personnel funding choices in the FY26 budget. Bixler said the county must be able to compete for workers who are often receiving higher offers in the private sector.

Bixler said Carroll County’s labor force has remained relatively stable while the local unemployment rate rose to an average of about 2.3% in early 2024. She also cited federal Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showing compensation costs for state and local workers rose roughly 4.7% for the 12‑month period ending December 2024; wages were about 4.5% and benefit costs about 4.9% in that span. “Compensation costs have increased 4.7%,” she said, summarizing the national data in the county briefing.

On local staffing, Bixler said the county employed 839 people (not counting authorized but vacant positions) and had filled a number of vacancies over the past year; she reported roughly 71 current vacancies countywide and cited particular trouble filling emergency communications specialists, truck drivers and some fire/EMS roles. She told commissioners the county had 50 hires so far in 2025 and had 86 non‑fire/EMS separations in 2024. Bixler said many candidates decline job offers because Carroll’s pay cannot match offers they receive elsewhere. “Just this morning, we had two employees that were supposed to start today…one had indicated the pay rate she was receiving was almost double what we were able to offer,” she said.

Bixler also described the county’s response efforts: renewed recruiting events, continued partnerships with workforce development and local colleges, an expanded internship program, and a referral bonus program the board approved last year. She said 27 employees have submitted referrals and that payout timing depends on completing probation (fire/EMS employees typically have a one‑year probation period).

On benefits and transparency, Bixler noted changes to co‑pays and employee contributions that took effect January 1 and described impacts from Maryland’s pay‑transparency law requiring full pay ranges be posted on job advertisements; Bixler said that transparency has driven some candidates to assume they will be hired at the top of a range.

A major part of Bixler’s briefing was a multi‑year effort to update job descriptions and the county classification structure. HR staff reviewed about 417 job descriptions, implemented a competency framework (core and leadership competencies), used the Quinto system to set job family and job‑specific competencies, and re‑rated positions on compensable factors (education, experience, scope, responsibility) to determine appropriate pay ranges. The result will be two distinct pay scales — one for exempt (salaried) employees and one for nonexempt (hourly) employees — and recommendations to move some roles from hourly to salaried where appropriate. Bixler said funds to make required pay adjustments when positions move to higher classifications are already in the budget and would not require new money.

Commissioners asked for a total‑cost estimate for proposed wage increases; Bixler said HR can work with the budget office to provide that figure. She also confirmed that benefit costs have not decreased overall but have changed in structure (co‑pays, contributions) and that some program changes reduced benefits in limited areas. “I would be hard pressed to find a benefit that has decreased,” she said, adding that overall changes were intended to bring employee contributions more in line with the market.

Next steps: HR will deliver the classification recommendations and new pay ranges to department directors for review as the county enters budget deliberations. Bixler said the next steps also include continuing outreach and the recruitment initiatives described to reduce vacancies.

The presentation was informational; no formal votes were taken during the HR briefing.