Bannock County veterans services coordinator asks for higher grade, second service officer and modest budget increases

Melissa Hartman, the Bannock County Veterans Services coordinator, asked the county commission on an unspecified date to reclassify her position to grade 12 step 4, add a second veterans service officer to her office and approve modest operating increases to cover training, phones and occasional travel.

Hartman told commissioners that her original request for a grade 14 was inappropriate after reviewing human-resources job-family standards and that a grade 12 step 4 better matches her duties and HR’s budget recommendation. “So what I'm asking for is a 12 at a level 4, a a step 4,” she said.

Hartman said the office serves a substantial number of veterans and channels federal benefits into the local economy. She said there are 5,465 veterans who reside in Bannock County, 2,066 enrolled in VA health care and 2,426 active clients in her office, which she estimated represents roughly 44 percent of the county’s veteran population. “Compensation and pension … to veterans in our county, we are over $38,000,000 a…