Washington County presents proposed salary commission nominees; board flags lack of HR professionals

Washington County staff presented a recommended slate of nominees to seed the county’s independent Salary Commission and told commissioners the county struggled to recruit HR-certified professionals for the panel.

At the April 22 work session, staff said the county received multiple applicants for the commission and recommended appointing six county residents to the body. The recommended nominees include San Pablo Garcia (executive director, Latinx Recovery Center), Madiha Amjid (accounting/finance background), Faisal Azim (Intel), Masood Rashid (Intel), Abe Turki (project manager, transportation capital projects) and Abraham Abdi (case manager, Department of Human Services). Staff noted one recommended candidate is a retired county employee and that one recommended nominee is not a Washington County resident.

Staff described recruitment as “surprisingly harder than expected” and said the county broadened outreach beyond HR professionals to management-level candidates with hiring experience. The presentation noted the Salary Commission charter generally calls for HR professionals but that the county was unable to fill the panel exclusively with people holding HR credentials.

To support the commission, staff said the county has contracted with an external facilitator who will set meeting cadence, provide materials, and lead a market analysis process supported by county HR. Staff said meetings will be scheduled in the evening to accommodate nominees who are working employees. The consultant will interview commissioners and work with HR and other staff to prepare a market analysis; staff said the work is expected to take multiple meetings and that timelines must align with the county’s budget process.

Commissioners expressed mild concern about the lack of HR-certified members but acknowledged staff’s outreach efforts and recommended more time to debrief and consider recruitment tactics for future cycles. A staff member noted the Salary Commission is independent and its recommendations are advisory to the board.

The recommended appointments were brought forward for consideration on a future consent agenda item; no formal appointments were made during the April 22 work session.

Outlook: The nominees are expected to appear on a future board agenda for formal appointment. Staff will provide information to the consultant and schedule evening meetings for the commission once members are appointed.