County staff propose evened monthly pay for full‑time hourly workers; court gives preliminary support

Gilliam County finance staff proposed transitioning a group of full‑time hourly employees to a salaried pay process that evens paychecks monthly, and commissioners gave preliminary support at the Jan. 22 meeting.

Finance Director Brooke Griffith told the court the proposal responds to employee requests for predictable monthly pay. The approach would convert 19 full‑time hourly positions (full‑time FTEs) to a structure where annual hours are divided across 12 months so employees receive a consistent pay amount each pay period (173.33 hours per month equating to a full‑time FTE of 2,080 hours per year).

Griffith said the county would keep employees as hourly for leave and overtime accounting but switch to an exceptions‑based payroll model: supervisors would approve overtime as it occurs and PayPro (the county payroll system) would auto‑fill standard monthly hours; employees would enter leave or overtime exceptions for supervisor approval. The change aims to make personal budgeting easier for employees and simplify payroll processing.

Commissioners voiced general support but noted the transition requires steps: consultation with the union and possible memorandum(s) of agreement (MOA) where the county's collective bargaining agreement is affected, review by labor counsel, updated job descriptions and personnel action forms for each affected employee. Griffith said she would gather more departmental input, work with the union, draft MOAs and bring proposed action items back to the court for approval.

Why it matters: Moving to evened monthly pay alters payroll processing, supervisor approval workflows and collective‑bargaining considerations. The change has budgetary and legal implications and would require coordinated implementation, job‑description updates and formal personnel actions before it takes effect.