Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Hiring topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bannock County approves higher step to rehire experienced juvenile probation officer
Summary
The Board approved an ‘exceptional step placement’ to hire a former senior juvenile probation officer at a higher pay step to fill a Village-based juvenile probation position, citing savings and reduced retraining need.
Bannock County commissioners approved hiring an experienced candidate for a juvenile probation officer position at an elevated step, allowing the new hire to start at grade 10, step 3.
Matt Olsen, director of Bannock County Juvenile Justice, and Todd Mogher, chief juvenile probation officer, asked the board to grant an exceptional step placement for a candidate who previously held the role for more than 13 years and left the department as a grade 11, step 5 employee. Olsen said the candidate also holds a master’s degree in social work and remains POST-certified, reducing the need for weeks of retraining.
Olsen told the board the position is budgeted for grade 10, step 2 for fiscal 2025 but that salary savings in the current year mean the county could start the new hire at step 3 with minimal expense. He described the fiscal-2025 cost difference as effectively “barely one pay period,” and said the position is budgeted for grade 10, step 3 in fiscal 2026.
Commissioners weighed the operational benefit of hiring an already trained employee and avoiding a roughly three‑and‑a‑half‑week POST retraining and coverage needs. A commissioner moved to accept the recommendation to hire the candidate at the requested step; the motion passed by voice vote.
Olsen said the higher step would help supervise interns and reduce training time; the board did not provide a named dollar figure beyond the description that FY2025 costs would be minimal. The employee’s official start date was stated as Sept. 22.
