Commissioners weigh employee survey controls and overhaul of pay matrix

Commissioners on Jan. 5 discussed changes to the county's employee-survey procedures, the rollout of county email accounts for staff and a broader review of the compensation matrix and insurance options.

Unidentified Speaker 2 said the commission should approve survey questions that have board-wide implications. "The commission should have approved what the wording was," Unidentified Speaker 2 said, describing confusion from a prior survey about insurance-related questions and the volume of employee responses.

Chastity (Clerk) said routine polls such as holiday or nonpolicy questions could remain administrative, but surveys that affect policy or benefits should be reviewed before release. "If this is a survey or a poll... that you as commissioners want prior to it going out, it definitely needs to be approved," Chastity said.

Commissioners also discussed giving all employees county email accounts and using an internal survey platform to host internal-only polls. They raised the compensation matrix as a separate, longer-term item: commissioners and staff described the current matrix as overly complex with many step increases that produce very small raises and said they want to compare Linn County's structure with neighboring counties to create a clearer pay schedule.

Chastity said she will contact other county clerks for examples and return with proposals; commissioners asked that the matrix and compensation discussion be scheduled for review in March. The board emphasized separating insurance benefit decisions from the pay-matrix review and asked staff to provide options on benefits and possible employee contributions before the next formal discussion.