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Nye County tables sheriff's reclassification after months of dispute over pay study and dispatcher retention
Summary
After hours of public testimony from dispatchers, union negotiators and staff alleging flaws in a county-funded pay study, the Nye County Board of County Commissioners voted to table a multi-position reclassification and direct further review of dispatcher compensation and methodology.
The Nye County Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 4 tabled a proposal to reclassify several sheriff's office positions after an extended public outcry that the county's pay study mischaracterized dispatcher duties and risks undercutting retention.
Dispatchers, evidence technicians and administrative staff told the board the reclassification returned by Human Resources would reduce or fail to raise pay for some civilian employees even after the county commissioned an external pay study. "We're now facing even harsher crisis because dispatchers are leaving," said Ashley Castillo, the sheriff's office dispatch manager, adding the office is "just over 65% staffed." She urged the board to restore the study's intent and fix the methodology before making personnel changes.
Multiple employees and union representatives described a mismatch between the outside study used to set salaries and an internal matrix the county later applied. "The admin tech positions are just as hardworking and vital to operations as any other positions in the county," said Maya Bolton, representing civilian county staff. Anastasia Wilkin, who said she sat on the union board that negotiated the contract, warned members approved the prior contract based on the study's results.
Commissioners and staff acknowledged problems with the process. Commissioner Behn said the county must "fix this pay study, which I think is critically incorrect," and warned against reducing one group's pay to accommodate others. The Board voted to table the item 5-0 and directed staff to reevaluate the dispatcher classification and the pay-study methodology.
The motion to table followed more than an hour of public testimony in which employees said incomplete or absent position-input data had skewed results, causing dispatch to appear lower in comparators used by the study. Several commissioners said they want a fix within a near-term timeframe so the issue does not lapse.
Next steps: commissioners asked Human Resources and county staff to bring additional analysis and corrected data back to the Board at a future meeting; no new effective personnel changes were adopted at the Nov. 4 session.
