Scott County supervisors split over pay‑step exception for county‑attorney hire

County staff summarized a memo from County Attorney Kelly Cunningham asking the board to approve an exception to the county’s step progression for an incumbent attorney, moving the employee from step 5 to step 8 effective Aug. 29 and ultimately to step 9 on the employee’s anniversary. Staff noted the county’s compensation policy typically limits step movement to one step per anniversary and advised caution when deviating from that framework, though they acknowledged post‑pandemic hiring pressures.

The board’s discussion split along two lines. Supporters of the exception said the county risks losing the attorney and that correcting the hiring placement is fair: "There was a mistake made. Let's rectify it," said one supervisor advocating correction. Others said routinely deviating from established policy risks internal morale and sets a poor precedent. One supervisor argued such a change would reward an avoidable managerial error and could have long‑term budget and morale consequences.

Board members debated timing and language for the resolution. Multiple supervisors proposed an amendment that would set the employee to step 9 on the anniversary date (September 3) to avoid deviating from two policies at once; that compromise gained support and staff indicated they would "massage" the resolution language to reflect the agreed approach. The transcript records the policy debate and amendment discussion but no final formal vote on the requested exception during the session.

What’s next: staff will rewrite the resolution language to reflect the board’s direction and present it for final action; no final pay action was recorded in this meeting.