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Utah County HR recommends targeted market pay increases and carrier change after rising LTD claims
Summary
Human Resources told the Utah County Commission it recommends phased, market-targeted pay adjustments (up to 2.6% total funding in 2021) to address jobs far below market and a switch in long-term disability carriers after insurers flagged rising, high-cost claims.
Ralph Barnes, director of human resources for Utah County, told commissioners during a budget work session that his office recommends a targeted, phased approach to pay adjustments in 2021 and a change in the county's life and disability carrier because of rising long-term disability (LTD) claims.
Barnes presented a countywide compensation “pie,” saying 36% of total compensation is benefits (about $38 million) and 64% is wages (about $69 million). He said the county has lagged market wage growth in recent years and that a focused market-pricing strategy — rather than a blanket cost-of-living adjustment — would correct the largest gaps while controlling cost. "I recommend allocating up to, you know, 2.6% additional wage funding for pay adjustments in 2021," Barnes said.
Barnes proposed a combined approach: a market-targeted program to raise jobs that are substantially under market and a small general increase to prevent the county from falling further behind. Using the Sheriff's Office as an example, he said addressing the most-under-market positions there would cost about 1.1% of that office's budget (approximately $2,280,000), far less than a full COLA applied across the board.
On recruiting and staffing, Barnes reported HR posted 160 positions in the last year and received more than 7,000 applications; average time-to-hire from approved requisition to offer letter is about 32 days. He said turnover has declined to about 8.9% and that roughly 25 recent terminations were cases involving progressive discipline.
On benefits, Barnes said the county's LTD vendor, Mutual of Omaha, proposed a premium increase of roughly $266,000 after several large ongoing claims. HR and broker Gallagher solicited alternatives and identified The Standard, which would raise LTD costs by about $52,000 and include a roughly $24,000 annual technology credit — a net increase in the neighborhood of $27,000. Barnes described the Standard proposal as a feasible alternative to absorbing Mutual of Omaha's requested increase and recommended changing carriers.
Barnes also previewed the countywide Relias compliance and training rollout, noting some required ethics and fraud courses will apply to elected officials per the state auditor. He described ongoing Workday and PayFactors work to improve position descriptions, reduce pay-action errors (a three-check validation process), and enable future annual, targeted market reviews.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about measuring voluntary versus involuntary turnover, how market comparators are selected (Barnes said the county starts with other URS-participating public entities and weights private-sector data down), and whether merit and performance could be used to delay market increases for underperforming employees. Barnes said policies could be drafted to delay or deny a market increase for individuals on performance plans, but cautioned that would require clear documentation and careful administration.
No formal motion or vote was recorded during the work session. Barnes provided commissioners a handout summarizing the analysis and said HR will return with written recommendations and implementation details for a phased rollout if the commission directs staff to proceed.
