Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clinton County moves ahead with WIS salary-survey update and agrees to study performance-based options
Summary
Councilors and commissioners approved hiring WIS to update the county's 2024 salary survey (estimated $8,000—$10,000) and directed the study to include recommendations for a potential performance-based raise structure.
A council member summarized the county's 2024 engagement of Wagner/Erwin/Schield (WIS) to overhaul the job-classification and compensation system. For 2026 the council recommended a narrower update survey to compare the last two years of implementation against market data. The vendor estimated the update at $8,000 to $10,000; the council has budget authority for professional services to cover the cost.
Commissioners discussed how discretionary adjustments in 2025 led to widely varying raises (some employees received 2% while others received as much as 28%). One commissioner expressed concern that discretionary adjustments undercut the goal of a consistent system and proposed including a performance-based distribution mechanism as part of the WIS scope so department heads would have structured discretion to allocate a capped raise pool.
WIS's scope as described will include market comparisons in the public sector and, to a limited degree, private-sector benchmarks. Commissioners voted to approve the consulting agreement with WIS and to include evaluation of a performance-style recommendation as part of the work. The chair recorded the motion as carried 3-0.
Next steps: staff will finalize the WIS agreement, add language requesting recommendations on performance-based raise structures, and report back with the consultant's findings.
