The Churchill County Board of Commissioners voted to proceed with a countywide personnel compensation study and approved parameters to guide the consultant’s peer-selection process.

Sarah Towne, a consulting manager with Baker Tilly, told commissioners the firm’s five‑phase study will use a market assessment to select 10 public peer organizations and incorporate private-market survey data where appropriate. Towne recommended eight rural county peers — Lyon, Douglas, Carson City, Storey, Elko, Nye, Pershing and Humboldt — and proposed adding the City of Fallon and Washoe County as additional comparators if needed for data or labor-market context. "I do feel confident, and I would recommend the county over the city just in terms of comparable when it comes to health, social services, library entities," Towne said.

Commissioners debated including a larger jurisdiction. Some expressed concern Washoe County’s higher wages could skew comparisons; Towne said her team will adjust salary data for geographic cost-of-living differences and can place caps or parameters on how large-county data are used. Commissioners also discussed data availability for Fallon and Fernley and Towne said her team will pursue the data with sustained outreach; if a city does not provide data after repeated attempts, Baker Tilly will substitute another peer.

The board moved and seconded a motion to proceed with the study under the recommended parameters and approved the motion by voice vote. The study will now proceed to data collection and the consultant will return with results and recommended peer matches for the board to review.

Next steps: Baker Tilly will begin the market assessment and outreach to the listed peers and national survey sources; the board asked staff and commissioners to assist with contacts if the consultant has difficulty obtaining local city data.