Bannock County treasurer asks commissioners to restore senior deputy position, raise deputy pay grade

Bannock County Treasurer Jennifer Clark on Monday asked the Board of County Commissioners to restore a senior deputy treasurer position that existed before 2019 and to approve a pay-grade increase for deputy treasurers.

Clark said the position, referenced in the budget as position control number 109002, would be a supervisory role requiring five years of service and would move one current deputy into that higher-grade slot while keeping the same total number of deputy positions. “I am asking that we bring back our position that we had prior to 2019 for our senior deputy treasurer, which is a step up from our other deputy treasurer positions,” Clark said.

The request is paired with a separate proposal to move deputy treasurers to grade 6 “due to their job responsibilities,” Clark said. She said the change is intended to reflect supervisory duties and longer service requirements similar to senior probation officer classifications used elsewhere in county staffing.

Clark told commissioners the treasurer’s office had made reductions on its schedule B nonpersonnel line items totaling $14,100 this year and asked the board to consider that when weighing salary and classification requests. She pointed out reductions in printing and binding costs and said computer supply costs have declined because some items are now covered in another department’s budget. “We have made some drastic cuts. I say drastic. I feel drastic,” Clark said.

Clark and Chief Deputy Treasurer Misty Castle Lomitas answered commissioners’ technical questions about line-item and position-control numbering and explained that unpredictable costs such as title searches and some postage-related accounts roll forward into reserves when unspent. “Any unused just rolls forward or bills to reserves,” Castle Lomitas said of title-search spending.

Commissioners asked clarifying operational questions; Commissioner Ken said the budget “looks good” after the presentation but did not move or second any formal motion during the session. No formal action or vote on the treasurer’s requests was recorded during the meeting. Clark said staff would be available for follow-up questions as the county continues budget deliberations.

The treasurer’s office did not provide a specific dollar amount for the proposed salary-grade change or an effective date for any reclassification. Commissioners indicated budgeting would continue in the coming weeks before final decisions are made.