Commissioners debate treasurer’s request to advance employee on wage scale; request ultimately placed on file

Montcalm County commissioners debated whether to advance a treasurer office employee to a higher step on the county wage scale, saying the request raised equity and precedent concerns for other elected offices.

The treasurer’s request would move a deputy who has been in the office roughly a year to a higher wage step. Treasurer Joanne said she wanted the employee moved at least to a three‑year wage step, with a later move to the four‑year step if commissioners would not move the employee directly to the top of the scale. “If you can't see going to the top of the scale, I'd like to see her move to the 3 year wage,” Joanne said during the discussion.

The request surfaced shortly after the county implemented a wage study that produced across‑the‑board increases. Several commissioners said they supported the employee’s performance but said making a one‑off adjustment after hiring would be difficult to justify to other elected officials whose employees are farther along in the step progression.

Chairman Carr stressed consistency: “I like to be consistent. I like to treat all the employees consistently,” and warned that granting an exception to one office would prompt similar requests from others. Commissioner Alexander said he would be more amenable to a higher starting step if the employee had been hired at that step, but agreed the board should treat similar cases consistently.

Peterson moved to place the treasurer’s request on file. That motion failed on a roll call vote: Alexander and Peterson voted yes; Mahar (Maher), Murray and Carr voted no; one board member was not recorded on the roll call. The motion failed at that time.

After continued discussion — including suggestions to advance the deputy only one or two steps immediately rather than to the top of the scale — Commissioner Maher later moved to place the treasurer’s request on file. That motion was moved and supported and was approved by the board.

The record during the meeting included specific salary figures discussed: the treasurer’s deputy’s current pay after a recent bump was stated as $52,015; earlier step calculations discussed $50,000 at three years and $58,000 at the top of the scale. Commissioners repeatedly noted the difference between making an exception at hire versus requesting an adjustment after roughly a year on the job.

The board did not adopt a countywide policy change during the discussion. Commissioners asked that similar future requests be handled within the budget and wage‑study processes to avoid repeated individual appeals. Treasurer Joanne indicated she was asking for at least a one‑step advancement if the board would not approve a top‑of‑scale jump.

What’s next: The board placed the request on file for additional processing consistent with the final motion. Details about any specific pay change or effective date were not specified in the discussion and were not adopted in a final wage amendment during the meeting.