Commissioners back Baker Tilly pay study: choose Option 2 and authorize up to $200,000 for implementation

Alamance County commissioners approved a Baker Tilly compensation study implementation plan and authorized the county manager to spend up to $200,000 to implement recommended pay‑plan changes on Jan. 1.

Sarah Towne, consulting manager for Baker Tilly's classification and compensation team, presented the firm's methodology, which used a market "match" philosophy across 15 peer organizations and three published salary sources. Towne said the study carried 118 benchmark positions to market (about one‑third of county positions), produced market values for 94.1% of those positions and found the county to be on average 4.2% above market at minimums, 1.8% above at midpoints and 0.1% above at maximums. She also noted the county's cost‑of‑labor index and explained data adjustments, grading methodology and implementation scenarios.

Towne described two implementation scenarios: Option 1 moves employees whose pay is below the new minimum up to the new minimum (estimated annual cost ~$126,000); Option 2 accounts for years in position by applying a 2% per year credit from the new minimum (estimated annual cost ~$336,000). Baker Tilly said mid‑year implementation would roughly be half those amounts. County staff said $400,000 was budgeted for phase 2 implementation; county manager and HR recommended Option 2 with a request to authorize up to $200,000 for a January 1 implementation to allow fine‑tuning and cleanup prior to enactment.

Commissioners discussed hard‑to‑fill positions (DSS social workers and sheriff's deputies) and whether targeted lead strategies or bonuses should be considered; several commissioners noted retention and contractual retention mechanisms used previously with the sheriff's office. After additional questions the chair moved to adopt Option 2 and authorize up to $200,000 to implement the pay plan; the motion passed unanimously by voice vote.